The Chances We Take
by BlackSnowFalls06
Summary: Life isn't easy, not everyone gets a happy ending. What gets couples together is not always the obvious, for violence in the world is a powerful motivation. Writing and ideas get better as story goes on. I don't think it clashes with the 7th book. REVIEW!
1. It Starts with a Bet

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

A/N: Hope you enjoy this first chapter, many more to come! PLEASE REVIEW, it makes me happy!

_I am  
What I want you to want  
What I want you to feel  
But it's like  
No matter what I do  
I can't convince you  
To just believe this is real  
So I let go  
Watching you  
Turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here  
'Cause you're all I got_

_-Faint: Linkin Park_

**Chapter 1: It Starts with a Simple Bet**

'Today', Lily thought, 'is the last day I am going to be known as a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To think, I only have one more year to go.'

Lily was down in the common room, pretending to read a book, while she waited for her friends Kyra and Cora. She had told them to pack the night before but as always, they waited until the very last possible moment to pack. Lily shook her head, when would they ever learn. Those two were the biggest procrastinators she had ever met. She thought six years of being friends would change them into some of her habits, but it seems old habits die-hard.

"When will they ever learn," Lily said to herself.

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," a voice said from behind her.

"Potter, my day was going great and you just have to go and ruin it don't you?" Lily said turning the page of her book, not looking up to him.

"That's what I'm here for," James said with a smile. He sat down next to her on the couch and ran his hand through his hair.

"Hey Evans you want…"

"Don't even bother asking Potter, the answer is and always will be no!" Lily said turning another page in her book. At the moment the only thing keeping her from snapping was turning the pages of her book, which she wasn't even reading. She told herself this morning that she wasn't going to let him ruin her day; she just hoped her sanity would withstand his idiotic manners.

"Come on Evans, you know you want to," James said moving so close to her that their arms were grazing each other's.

"Potter, I believe the only thing I want right now is for you to leave me alone. Don't you have some other girl you can go and get an easy snog session with?" Lily said, not taking her eyes off her book.

"Nope, just you." James said smiling again.

"You know that smile doesn't work on me Potter, you have tried it too many times."

"You know me so well, you can tell without even looking that I'm smiling. It's like we're already married," James said, poking her in the arm.

Lily took her hand and started playing with her hair; she was trying to ignore him, but it didn't seem he was going to stop anytime soon.

"Evans, what's the real reason you won't go out with me," James asked, "Are you scared?"

"You wish Potter."

"Then tell me why you won't?" James asked, bringing his face close to Lily's.

"Because you little arrogant piece of shit, I won't be seen attached to the arm of a jackass who only cares about himself!"

"Ouch," James said dramatically, "That hurts Evans."

"Well the truth hurts Potter," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"The truth, right. You make it seem that the only reason you hate me is because of how you see me. How many different girls love me because of who I am, not who I seem to be? Look deeper Evans, you may find something you like, or are you that shallow?"

"I don't understand how those girls see you like that. Are you too damn stupid to see that they don't like you for you? They only thing those girls want to get is the title of being your girlfriend for a week or so. Don't you see that or are you being blinded by your ego to see what is right in front of you."

"Evans, I am touched. Do you actually care about me?" James said, holding his hand to his heart.

"I hate you Potter and nothing is going to stop me from hating you. But I was raised not to let others around me be used like you are and, although it is against this animosity between us, I feel it is wrong for me not to tell you how I see the girls you go out with. In a sense, I feel sorry for you."

"Sorry enough to go out with me?"

"No way in hell." Lily said matter-of-factly turning a page in her book.

An awkward silence fell over the two and Lily could feel his gaze upon her. That gaze, it was the most empowering thing he had against her, though she dare not tell him that. The feeling of someone watching your every move frightened her beyond her wits. But when James was the culprit, the fear was much worse. If James was quiet his mind would wander into unwelcome ideas about the oddest things, around Lily he was usually thinking about a way for them to get together. She was sick and tired of his attempts to get her to go out with him. Maybe if he changed his mannerisms and she found out he wasn't asking her out for attention but because he really liked her, then she would. But is he continued to act in the same way, the concept was out of the question, not that she was planning to go out with him in the first place.

"Shouldn't you be out with your friends right now?" Lily said, trying to make conversation with him.

"Nope, I told them I was going to be with you all morning and that I would meet them on the train."

"Potter, my friends are going to be down in a minute and if they see me talking to you without yelling they are going to get ideas, so could you please leave."

"Evans, are you trying to be nice to me so that I will leave or are you just in a good mood?"

"Both, of course my good mood is being spoiled by you," Lily said, making her expressions toward the book as if it were James.

"Just say you'll go out with me and I will leave this second." James said, with a mischievous smile that told Lily he was up to something.

"What idea are you getting, whatever it is, it better not involve me," Lily said, closing her book and looking into James' eyes.

"How about we have a little bet Evans."

"What kind of bet?" Lily asked, starting to get interested in what he was talking about.

"If I change over the summer and come back to school next year being your dream man, not that I'm already not." Lily rolled her eyes. "A person who isn't arrogant and thinks of others before himself, you have to go out with me on one date."

Lily opened her mouth to answer, but then thought against it. Her immediate reaction was to say 'no,' but thinking again, this bet could go in her favor. If she could cause him to fail in this bet, she might be able to get him to leave her alone for a whole year. She smiled, imagining everyday of her last year of Hogwarts with James Potter breathing down her neck. But was the risk good enough to endanger her going on a date with him. She shook her head, what was the chance of him changing his entire personality and way of life in one summer. It was improbable, but not impossible. Lily thought for another minute, even if she did lose this bet, it's only one date. One date can't change six years of resentment between two people. Deciding a year of relaxation was well worth the risk of one date with Potter, Lily thought is best to agree with him…how could she lose.

"Fine but you have to be incident free for one week," Lily said, smiling at him.

"I excepted you to be harsher Evans, but only one week. That will be as easy as pie."

"For you, it will be hell."

"Fine, deal?" James asked.

"No, we haven't discussed my part of the bet. If you can't stay decent for a week than you and your friends have to leave me and my friends alone for the rest of the year, no ifs, ands, or buts."

James thought for a moment. He could either get Lily or loose her completely. Well, in his mind there wasn't any other way to get her to go out with him, so it was either this or nothing at all. It was worth the shot.

"Great, deal?" James said, putting his hand out.

"Deal," Lily said, taking his hand.

"I'll be on my way then." James said and left the common room just as Cora and Kyra were coming down the stairs.

"Were you just talking to James?" Kyra asked.

"He was just annoying me, that's all." Lily said.

"Are you sure, then what's that?" Kyra said pointing to Lily's wrist.

On Lily's wrist were two black rings with small writing written in between them.

"You made a bet with him didn't you?" Cora asked, looking at the band.

"Yes, but what is this thing on my wrist?" Lily said, starting to panic.

"It's an agreement band. Wizards and witches use it when making business deals or bets to make sure the two parties play out the outcome of the deal or bet," Cora said, not taking her eyes off her wrist.

"You mean Potter did this to make sure…"

"He probably only did it to make sure you would do whatever the outcome was. He must have really wanted you or him to do something if he used an agreement band." Cora said.

"What did you guys bet on anyway?" Kyra asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I'll tell you guys on the way to the carriages." Lily said, leading the way out of Hogwarts.

**

* * *

**

"You did what?" Sirius asked in shock.

"I can't believe you did that, Lily will be furious when she finds the mark on her wrist." Remus said with amusement.

"Hey, it could be the only way I could get Evans." James said.

"Or the only way to lose her." Remus said, coming back to earth and thinking about the situation.

"That's why I need all your help. If I am ever going to get Evans to like me back I need to change. No more hexing people, no more pranks unless they are needed, no more playing with the snitch and no more selfishness." James said, taking the snitch out of his pocket and putting it in Sirius' hand.

"No more pranks, come on Prongs. Without pranks how will we keep our reputation?" Sirius asked, shocked that James would give up pranks for a girl.

"Padfoot is right. You can't change everything about you in one summer. If you make any progress at all Lily will notice." Remus said.

"But if I do anything wrong I can't speak to her for the whole year." James said, looking at his marked wrist.

"Well, then all we can do is help you mate. If you really care about Lily then you can count on us." Sirius said.

"Definitely," Remus said.

"Yeah," Peter said.

"This is going to take a lot of time so, let's start right now." Remus said.

"Now?" James said as if he were a spoiled child.

"Yes, now first things first. Don't call her Evans anymore, her name is Lily and that's what you should call her." Remus said.

"And don't ask her every moment if she will go out with you, she probably finds it really annoying." Sirius said.

'Geez,' James thought, 'this is going to be a tough summer.'

**

* * *

**

"I can't loose this bet. Imagine a whole year without Potter breathing down our necks." Lily said, leaning back in her seat.

"I don't know about that Lily," Cora said, "He might surprise all of us by pulling this whole thing off."

"She's right you know. If James really does care about you than he might just succeed." Kyra said.

"Oh come on guys, you don't think that James could change that much." Lily said, mostly trying to convince herself.

"Who knows, he might turn into price charming." Cora said in a dreamy voice.

"You only want me to get close to him so that you could get closer to Sirius." Lily said laughing.

At that comment Cora blushed, Kyra joined in laughing with Lily.

"Shut up guys, you know I don't like talking about it." Cora said, biting her fingernails on her left hand.

That was the only thing bad about Cora. She seemed like a quiet girl to people outside her circle of friends but once you got to know her she could be wild sometimes. When Kyra and Lily first met her, she barely talked or made any comments to anyone. After a while she opened up and began being herself in front of them. It took a surprisingly long time for her to warm up to anyone, which made her seem shy to anyone other then those she was close to. She was especially shy around guys she liked, which for the past two years had been Sirius Black, James Potter's partner in crime.

"Cora you're right, back to the real reason I brought up this topic," Lily said.

"Keep talking," Kyra said, urging her friend on.

"Hypothetically speaking, if for some reason, as you guys say, he does succeed in changing during the summer I need a way to sabotage it so that he doesn't go through with the week I gave him."

"If that is what you really want Lily then I guess we have no choice right Kyra," Cora said, knowing that her and Kyra half-wanted James to succeed in this. She wasn't going to bring that up again however, she didn't want the topic going back to her and Sirius; she hated being the center of attention.

"I don't know Lily, maybe you should give James a chance…he might not be as bad as you think. Hell you might end up getting married and living happily ever after." Kyra said, laughing at her last thought. She wished James and Lily would get along, but them standing each other long enough to get married, it was impossible.

"In his dreams," Lily said laughing.

The train stopped, bringing a sudden end to the girls' conversation.

"We're here already, and the conversation was just getting good," Cora said, disappointment clearly in her voice.

"Well I will owl you guys about getting together over the summer, you all have to come over my house some time," Kyra said, getting her stuff from the compartment.

As the three left the station and went into the muggle world together, a group of four boys followed a few steps behind them. Kyra luckily was the only one to notice this.

"I don't think my parents are here yet, you guys go on home ok," Kyra said.

"Are you sure, my parents won't mind if I wait with you," Lily said, with concern for her friend, she didn't want her to be left alone. Two years ago Kyra's parents were an hour late because of a meeting, Lily wasn't about to leave her friend to possibly the same fate.

"I'll be fine, plus you sister is with you and if you make her wait she will be more of a bitch than she usually is." Kyra said, glad to give Lily an excuse to leave.

"No Kyra, not after what happened two…"

"They told me they would be a little late, like ten minutes," Kyra said, getting a bit hostile, "So you can go, there are plenty of other people here I can wait with."

" No need to get all jumpy about it, I was only offering a favor." Her face was ridged when she said this, but it changed to her normal tone, showing her anger was only a joke. " But if you are sure, I will go, bye then," she said, giving her two friends a hug and then meeting with her parents and leaving the station, but not before looking back at her friend.

"See you Kyra," Cora said, hugging her and leaving with her older brother. Voldemort had killed Cora's parents during the school year and the only family she had left was her brother, who was ten years older. This horrible tragedy caused Cora great pain, but she hid it from most of the world. She knew her parents would want her to move on and go on living happily. So she tried with all her might to do that. Although sometimes it was hard, she always strived for it. But this happiness was not always achievable, and sometimes she felt things or wished to do things that her friends would never know about.

This left Kyra alone, but she knew she would not be alone for long. She knew someone was waiting for her; all she had to do was wait for him.

"Hey Kyra," Sirius said, "Glad you got the hint that I needed to talk to you."

"I wanted to talk anyway about this whole thing with James and Lily." Kyra said, being completely serious.

"I know, this is great isn't it. All I have to do, with the help of Remus and Peter of course, is shape James up, and Lily and him will finally learn they are right for each other."

"It isn't going to be that easy."

"How so?"

"Even if James does succeed Lily will do anything in her power to make him screw up. She was already talking about sabotaging his plan on the train." Kyra said in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, I think this all will turn out fine," Sirius said, patting Kyra on the back.

"How can you be so sure Sirius?"

"Neither of us can control what Lily does but we can manipulate what you do."

"What do you mean?" Kyra asked, a smile spreading on her face from the look on Sirius' face; he had an idea, she could tell.

"Since you are best friends with Lily, you will be one of the first ones she will ask to sabotage James right? So all you have to do is not do what your supposed to do."

"Not that easy Sirius. We are talking about the next potential head girl, she will probably figure out that I am not helping her."

"True."

Kyra thought for a moment, "I'll try not to make it obvious then. Screw up on little things."

"Good, then as long as you do your part and I do mine, Lily and James will be together in no time." Sirius said.

"You really think once they get together they will last?" Kyra asked, knowing in her mind it was probably not possible.

"Between James being a naturally protective person and Lily being as loyal as she is, the two of them will make a perfect match."

"As long as they don't kill each other first." Kyra said laughing, which in turn caused Sirius to laugh.

"All right my rides here, I will owl you over the summer to tell you how much progress James is making."

"I'll see you later Sirius,"

And then the two of them went opposite ways.

* * *

A/N: I hope you like it; this is my first Lily and James fan fiction. I know by reading it is sounds predictable but I swear it has its share of twists. I don't really know how this plot is going to go fully because it will probably just be about how all the characters end up leading their lives up until Lily and James die. PLEASE REVIEW! The next chapter should be up soon because I am now on summer vacation and I have all the time in the world. That is until my parents make me get a job. Hope you enjoyed it! 


	2. First Sight

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_Why do you look so familiar  
I could swear that I have seen your face before  
I think I like that you seem sincere  
I think I'd like to get to know you  
A little bit more_

_Who Knows: Avril Lavigne_

**Chapter 2: First Sight**

It was a week before school began, for Lily and her friends, and the three of them were planning to meet at Diagon Alley to get all their shopping done. Lily's summer had been one of the best she had ever had. She and Cora stayed over Kyra's house or rather mansion, being that she was a pureblood she had a lot of money, for almost a month. They stayed about two weeks before the start of term when Kyra's parents had to leave home because of a business trip; since Voldemort was out in the world killing freely without care, Kyra's parents felt it was too dangerous for three teenage girls to be left alone. So Kyra went back home with Lily, since Cora and her brother were barely making ends meet with the two of them, Kyra felt it was best not to burden them anymore then they needed to be. Cora would have gone back to Lily's as well but she felt she would be a burden on the Evans, having two extra mouths to feed when she could just go home to her brother. Cora did not tell them this of course; she explained how she wanted to spend sometime with her brother before she went off to Hogwarts.

So here they were, Kyra and Lily, finishing up their makeup in the Lily's room with Mrs. Evans yelling that they had to leave now or they weren't going at all. They both knew she didn't really mean this because she was never a person to be able to stay mad at someone for too long.

"Ready?" Lily asked Kyra, as she put her hand on the doorknob.

"Yup," Kyra said, putting her mascara away. She then grabbed her bag and the two ran down the stairs to meet Mrs. Evans.

"You girls took long enough," Mrs. Evans said, trying to sound disappointed.

"Your voice and your face are telling me two different things mom," Lily said, half laughing.

"She's right Mrs. Evans anyone can read you like a book. Your face gives away everything." Kyra said.

"Kyra, how long have I been telling you to not call me that, it makes me feel old," Mrs. Evans said, opening the front door. Ever since Petunia had gotten married and left the house, Mrs. Evans had taken Kyra 'under her wind' so to speak. Mrs. Evans' mindset believed that as long as she had two daughters living in the house she would never age. Although she might have not been aware of what she was doing, Kyra knew full well what she was trying to do. Kyra's theory was that she did not want to believe that her children were growing up and might soon have children of their own. The thought of being labeled a grandmother probably scared her, but who could blame her, who wanted to feel old?

"Sorry," Kyra said, putting her left hand up to her mouth, "but my parents never taught me to call an adult by their first name, so it is out of habit that I call you Mrs. Evans."

"Oh, alright dear, just get in that car you two or Cora is going to be mad that you're late." Mrs. Evans said with a smile, and the three got in the car.

* * *

"Hey Alex, wake up." Cora said, trying to get her brother up out of bed; she had to meet her friends soon and she didn't want to be late.

"What?" Alex said in a sleepily voice.

"I told you I had to meet my friends today, and you said you would bring me." Cora said in a wining tone.

"Ok, when do you need to be there by?" Alex said, putting the covers back over his head in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"Noon, so get your ass up now or I am going to be late." Cora said, raising her voice so her brother got the hint.

Alex took a quick look at the clock, made a groan and said, "Alright, get out of here so I can get up. I'll be ready in five minutes."

Cora left his room smiling and went to get the money she had been saving to get her new school supplies. As she gathered her money, she saw the picture of her parents sitting on the top of a large fireplace. Immediately she looked away, no sense living in the past, her parents would not have wanted her and her brother to live that way. Her gaze traveled down to the fireplace and shook her head. She had been telling Alex since the beginning of the summer to set up the floo network again. Their parents had it disengaged a week before they died, for a reason neither of the two were sure of. If it were working he would not have to get up to drive her to Diagon Alley. It was his own fault he had to get up this morning, and she wasn't going to let him forget it.

* * *

Lily and Kyra arrived, at about noon, in Diagon Alley to find Cora nowhere in sight. The two, after assuring Mrs. Evans that they would be fine waiting for her alone, began pacing back and forth at the place the three were supposed to meet.

"Where do you think she is, you don't think she's hurt do you?" Lily said, getting extremely worried.

"You worry to much. Alex is bringing her and do you really think he is going to want to wake up this early on a weekend," Kyra said, putting her hand on her hip.

"But it's noon, how late does he want to sleep?" Lily asked, still scared for Cora.

"You've never met a guy in his twenties have you?" Kyra asked.

"Well no but…"

"I rest my case." Kyra said triumphantly, and the two continued to look for Cora at Lily's request, although Kyra was not happy about it and was not quiet about her disapproval.

------Thirty Minutes Later------

"Finally Cora, I thought something happened to you." Lily said, giving Cora a hug.

"Sorry Lily, didn't mean to worry you. My brother wouldn't get up." Cora said.

"See," Kyra said, hitting Lily on the back of the head, "I was right. You worry too much kid."

"Ouch, that hurt Kyra." Lily said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh and what is Lily going to do about it." Kyra said, backing away from her.

Lily then walked over to Kyra who immediately started running away from her. Lily ran after her and yelled, "Yea you better run Walters!" (a/n: Kyra's last name is Walters)

Cora just shook her head and ran after them while thinking, 'I don't think any of us will ever grow up.'

Kyra was running as fast as she could from Lily, but she was steadily catching up. So Kyra did the only thing she could, she took a sharp turn into the next alley. She turned and hid in the shadows. However Lily was quicker then that, as the next head girl should be, and she ran straight for the alley which Kyra went down. Unfortunately Lily hit something rather hard as she turned the corner.

She hit a person with a dark black cloak that swept the ground. She looked at the person's feet and guessed, since the shoes looked too big to belong to a woman, it was a man.

"Sorry about that, are you ok?" the man said with a voice that Lily thought was all too familiar. The man knelt down to her level and helped her get up, although Lily did not look into his face, too embarrassed to look this strange man in the eyes. But a second thought made her believe he was not as strange as she had first thought, that voice. The voice belonging to that man so too familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly who it was.

Lily first looked over to where Kyra was and saw that her face looked as if she had just seen a ghost. Lily then looked at the man cautiously, not really sure if she wanted to know who the voice belonged to.

"Potter?" Lily asked, not wanting to believe that her worst enemy was standing in front of her.

"Yes, you seem surprised to see me Lily." James said, with a smile on his face.

"What do you want, but if you're here to ask me out, the answer is no."

"No, I've learned my lesson about asking you out my dear. But next time, you should watch where you are going. The next person might not be as forgiving, like a dirty Slytherin."

And with that he left leaving Kyra, Lily, and Cora, who had arrived in the middle of the whole ordeal, in complete shock. Lily stared blankly at the spot where James Potter once stood. Had her ears deceived her or did he just have a conversation with her without asking her out. And, was he just decent? This person could not have been Potter, he was too kind, too decent, too un-Potter. She remembered the bet, did he really change this much over the summer. She shook her head; it was impossible for a person to transform completely in such a short time span…wasn't it?

"Was that James?" Cora asked, eyeing the same spot as Lily.

"I think the body was but who was inside…not the James I know." Kyra said, standing next to her two friends in awe. It seemed he had pulled it off, maybe there was more to James then met the eye, not that Lily was going to believe that. Lily was the kind of person whose trust was easy to gain, but once you broke the trust with her it was hard to get back. These actions made her quite stubborn and yet at the same time, they made her the gentlest living being on earth…as long as you caught her on a good day.

"You think someone used the Polyjuice Potion?" Lily asked, trying to convince herself that James had not changed and that she was still going to win this bet.

"I don't think so," Cora said, with a bit of a smile.

"Well if that's really James, then he certainly has changed." Kyra said, with a smirk on her face.

"Why are you happy about this? Did you forget about this?" Lily said, holding up her tattooed wrist to Kyra.

"I was thinking about what you should wear on your first date?" Kyra said, walking back onto the main road of Diagon Alley; her friends following right after her.

"First, if there is one, second, you make it sound like there is going to be more after the first forced one. Like I would ever go on more than one date with a stupid prat like that."

"Oh," Kyra said, smiling dramatically, "so you would go on one date with him."

"No Kyra," Lily yelled at her, "Must you screw up everything I say and then tell it back all wrong?"

"Calm down Lily, I'm just playing with you," Kyra said, trying to put on a serious face to make it seem like she was unhappy that James had cleaned up his act; at least his mannerisms in front of Lily.

"This is not a laughing matter Kyra, this is of major importance. Can't you all see this is just an act? He is going to act nice and pleasant for the first week and then poof, back to his old ways." Lily said, getting aggravated that she might actually loose this bet.

"Well, you never stated he had to stay like that in the rules of the bet, so sorry to tell you, but all's fair in love and war." Cora said smiling.

"Cora you're turning into Kyra with these comments. I don't think either of you understand the gravity of the situation," Lily said, trying to get back to her calm state; she was failing at it miserably.

"Lily, why are you worrying about this now. None of us can do anything to stop his actions at this time, but at Hogwarts we can do what you planned all along if he were to shape up during the summer. You do remember don't you?" Kyra asked, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

"Fine, I'll try not to worry about it, but this incident has ruined my entire day," Lily said, as she walked into Flourish and Blotts ahead of her two friends.

Cora and Kyra just looked at each other and rolled their eyes, which gave Kyra an idea of how Cora felt. Although she was not going to tell Cora how she was going to sabotage Lily's sabotage, in case she was on Lily's side, but the look on her face made it seem that the two were on the same side. If she was, it was going to make Kyra's job a lot easier. If they worked together, even as silent partners, Lily's date with James was in the bag.

* * *

"Nice job Prongs, I could not have done it better myself." Sirius said, hitting James on the back after watching the incident between Lily and her friends.

James put a hand through his hair and said, "Thanks, I thought I was going to pop when she started yelling at me."

"You held yourself well," Remus said turning to Sirius, "I think we have succeeded Padfoot."

"Too right Moony!" Sirius yelled.

"You'll have Lily in no time," Peter said.

"As long as I can last the week," James said, putting his hand through his hair again.

"And as long as you can stop putting your hand through your hair while Lily is around." Sirius said, with a smile, grabbing James' hand to emphasize his point.

"You know better then anyone else that that is a nervous habit." James answered, taking his hand out of Sirius' claws.

"I know that, but Lily doesn't." Sirius said, with a know-it-all kind of a smirk.

"But don't worry about the week, we will help you." Remus said, reassuring James.

"For some reason Moony, when you say that, it sounds a lot more convincing then when this dog says it." James said, hitting Sirius on the head.

"Hey!" Sirius yelled, crossing his arms on his chest, "I'm offended!"

"Live with it Padfoot," James said.

"Fine, Wormtail you're my new best friend." Sirius said, moving closer to Peter.

"You know that won't last long, no offence Wormtail." James said, waving his hand in the air to promote emphasis.

"None taken," Peter said, with a smile.

"Is the whole world against me?" Sirius yelled as he stopped and the other three walked ahead of him

"Yes," the three of them said while laughing.

Sirius mumbled something alone the lines of needing a new best friend and then slowly followed them to wherever the trio decided to go. But under that sulking face of his lay a smirk that reached up to his eyes. He had done it, with Remus and Peter's help of course. They had done something no one, not even they, thought possible, they had made James Potter into a gentlemen. They had worked all summer for this, but was it really worth it? Sirius knew this wanting for Lily was just present in James' life because Lily was beyond his grasp, and James always wanted the thing that was most out of reach. James usually gave up on things that were too hard to get as long as they were not that important to him, but he never gave up on this one. Whatever made Lily different then all the rest of the girls he didn't have a chance with, was beyond the minds of Sirius and rest of the Marauders. Sirius just hoped James stayed with Lily long enough so that it didn't matter that the four of them had wasted their whole summer on perfecting James' manners. But not too long, just long enough to make their efforts worth it. Sirius did not want his best friend taken away like his parents were, because of the ideas of people like Voldemort and his followers. Even though he had faith in his best friend, he knew he would not be able to last going out with Lily Evans. Yet then again, James was always one to not give up on something if he wanted it badly enough. Sirius started to get worried. He always knew, besides Moony that is, that James was the most likely of the group to get married. What if this was the girl who was going to take James away from him? Sirius shook his head, Lily was too smart for him, but just in case, Sirius would just have to get rid of her, just like the others.

* * *

"What do you say we go get some ice cream now?" Kyra said, sounding exhausted from a day of shopping.

"Sure," Lily said.

Lily then looked at Cora. She had already spent so much money on her school supplies and Lily had no idea if she had enough money to pay for ice cream. She knew her and her brother were tight on money ever since their parents had past away. Lily figured that Cora alone having to buy books was spending enough of their money, anymore would just be wasteful.

Kyra was obviously thinking along the same lines as Lily when she said, "Nice, my treat."

"If you insist," Lily said, knowing Kyra was really doing this for Cora.

"I know what you guys are doing," Cora said, as they neared the parlor. She then slowed down her pace to think more clearly. She knew she was having some money problems, but she didn't need her friend's pity because of it. She did not want to be treated any different! She was the same person!

"What do you mean Cora?" Kyra asked sweetly, pretending to act oblivious.

"You guys all know about what is going on with me and my brother right now, you're not blind and neither am I. Why do you think you stayed with Lily instead of with me?" Cora said, looking at Kyra.

"Look Cora, we know what is going on. We just want to help." Kyra said.

"That's what friends are for right." Lily said.

"I don't want pity from you guys," Cora said, looking at her feet.

"We don't mean it that way," Lily said, putting her hand on Cora's shoulder.

"Yea, I know." Cora said, hugging the two of them in one large hug. "What would I do without you guys?"

"You'd still be getting lost in Hogwarts." Kyra said lighting the mood.

"Shut up," Cora said, hitting Kyra lightly with one of her bags.

The three girls just laughed at the comment as they walked in to get their ice cream.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter is shorter then my last one but if I made it any longer it would have been too boring. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for the reviews I got for my last chapter, kudos for you people! Oh and concerning the comma thing I can't fix it in this one but I will work harder on the rest. I anyone one else has a comment about how I write please tell me. Also sorry I skipped the whole deal of James getting more mature and all that stuff but I just have so many ideas for once they get into Hogwarts I just want them to get there. The next chapter will take place on the first day of Hogwarts. I know it may seem that the events are moving too fast but I just want to get them in Hogwarts. In Hogwarts a lot more detail will be present I promise. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW, they make me happy and if I am happy I write faster! 


	3. Plans of Sabotage

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Sometimes there is no next time, no time outs, no second chances, sometimes it's now or never."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 3: Plans of Sabotage**

Instead of the appearance of the Hogwarts train bringing excitement to James, it brought anxiety. He was nervous as hell. He was, for the first time in his life, truly scared that he might loose the person he wanted most in life. Well, maybe she was not the most important person in his life, but for the next week, she would be. All of his 'training,' as he called it, had brought him to this week, this single moment. He looked up for a second, wishing that all the might in the world would help him get through this week, this was his last chance to get a hold on Evans…scratch that, Lily. Lily, he liked that name, but the years of fighting with her and calling her by her surname made the habit hard to break.

His liking for Lily did not start until the beginning of fifth year, when him and Sirius started dating girls. His eye caught Lily's immediately, but as James tried to get close to her, Lily seemed to push him away. Sirius had told him so many times that year to forget about her that she was too much of a goody-to-shoes to go out with a troublemaker like him. But Lily was far from him forgetting her, and he thought that if he bothered her enough about it, she would accept his proposal to go out with him. Unfortunately, Lily thought James' actions were more of an annoyance, and his relationship with Lily became even sourer. It seemed all hope was lost for him, until he came up with the idea of the bet. Lily, for some reason, agreed with him and the bet was finalized with a handshake. Lily probably had thought that he could never change over the summer from his reckless behavior to being normal. She had underestimated him, and he was going to make her pay for it with a date. Even if she hated him all the time after the date, at least he could say she gave him a chance, even if it was a forced one.

On top of this worry, he was named head boy, which meant that he had even more stress on him. Although the two being the head students, since James could think of no one other than Lily to take the role, did have it's benefits. They had their own study room, which James knew Lily would use a lot, plus meetings and planning with and without Dumbledore. If James played his cards right, Lily would realize his better personalities, as long as he didn't screw up.

'I sound so emo at the moment." James thought, as he walked onto the train with Sirius.

Sirius had stayed with the Potter's all summer long, not that it was rare for him to stay at their house for most of the summer, but this time it was different; Sirius had run away from his home after only three days of summer vacation. He never told James exactly what happened that day, which surprised him because Sirius was usually the talkative type. James figured it must have been pretty bad, since he had threatened to leave before but never carried it out, and the fact that his whole family was deep into the dark arts wasn't a good sign of positive things going on in that house. Most of Sirius' relatives and family had been placed in Slytherin house, but Sirius was one of the only ones placed in a different house; Sirius was in his immediate family, though, the only one to be sorted into Gryffindor house. Some people might think that his reckless and immature behavior could question if his true house was Gryffindor or Slytherin, but when push came to shove, Sirius was a brave and loyal friend, he feared neither death or pain.

"Here they are," Sirius said, opening the door to the compartment that held Remus and Peter.

"Why are you already dressed in you uniform?" Peter asked James.

"In case you forgot Wormtail, I am the new head boy this year." James said, with a smirk pulling on his collar to show authority, "I think I should go see Lily now." James puffed out his chest as he did this.

As he went to go walk out, Remus caught his wrist and said, "I don't think so, don't want to loose the bet now do you?"

"I did it again right?" James asked, sitting down as he started sulking, he realized that he might be in over his head. "I don't mean to, it just is part of my nature."

"Look I know you have to see Lily in the head's compartment and then you have to meet with all the prefects, just don't forget about not boasting. We didn't come this far to go down on the first day. As long as you can handle yourself when you are alone with Lily then you should be fine. I'll be at the prefects meeting so all you have to do is look at me and my face will remind you that you have to control yourself." Remus said, pointing his finger at James.

"I get it Moony," James said, throwing up his hands in defeat as he got up; the train started moving.

"See you guys later," Remus said, leaving Sirius and Peter alone.

The trip to the head's compartment seemed all too long for James, it was as if his judgment was being read by all the people inside the doors. The mix of excited and nervous chatter was heard from the pathway and James wondered if any others on the train were as tense as he was. Maybe some of the first years, but they were also filled with excitement, so that did not really count. James tried to shake off these feelings as they neared the compartment

When they reached the head's compartment Remus said this before leaving him, "Just keep your cool and you will be fine. Oh, and don't play with your hair, you know it pisses her off."

"Thanks Moony," James said, as he went inside.

"Hello Lily." James said, when he found she was already inside the room.

She sat on one of the seats in the compartment; the seats were in newer condition then the others on the train. Her hands were sitting her lap, while her feet tapped on the floor and her thumps twiddled. She was obviously anxious to find out who the next head boy was, the person she would work with for the whole year on projects that would effect the activities of the kids at the school.

"Potter, what are you doing here? Please don't tell me your head boy?" Lily pleaded.

Although his eyes were in all seriousness, Lily hoped that he was pulling a joke on her by coming into the head's compartment. Remus, who Lily was hoping was the next head boy, had probably given him the password. That was it, Lily told herself. But what is he was head boy? Although his exterior was tough and discourteous, he was very bright, along with Black. Lily hoped he was not head boy, though at the moment she felt she already knew the answer to her question, for it would mean the two would have to spend much of the year together.

"I am…surprising I know." James said, smiling and sitting on the couch facing Lily. James had the urge to put his hand through his hair but he kept his hand in check, he would not loose the bet because of a stupid habit.

"What's wrong with you?" Lily asked, standing right in front of him.

"What do you mean?" James asked looking up at her, knowing full well what she was talking about.

"You're so…so," Lily said, trying to find the right word

"Different," James said, finishing her sentence.

"Not the word I was looking for, but it'll work," Lily said.

"I've grown up."

"I'll say," Lily said in a whisper, though not believing the he had 'grown up,' at least her definition of that phrase.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Lily said, too quickly for James.

James felt himself wanting to get noisy and right into her business. But he held this feeling at bay. He wanted the pry, but he wanted Lily more, "ok."

"OK…that's your comment…ok? What little old Potter can't pry anymore."

"I learned to control that feeling," James said, standing up and facing her.

"Fine, keep your secrets to yourself. Now we have to attend to the prefects, let's go before they have a hissy fit." Lily said, leading the way to the prefect's room.

* * *

The meeting ended without incident, to Lily's surprise. She expected him to go off topic and talk about things or even be prejudice against the Slytherins. Well, may be there was a little feeling of animosity toward them, but he held his tongue well. Remus was one of the last Prefects to leave, not that he talked to any of the other members and he didn't talk to James on that day. He just sat there for a while, watching everyone else. Lily wondered went through his head, he was a complex one.

After all the prefects left the room the only ones present were the head boy and girl.

"You held yourself very well Potter, I'm surprised." Lily said, packing up her things.

"Don't call me Potter anymore. I stopped calling you Evans, could you at least call me by my name." James asked, as the two left the room together.

"No, that would make you too happy," Lily said matter-oh-factly, not looking at him

"Fine be like that Lily," James said, starting to get pissed off.

The two walked in silence the rest of the way; until James reached the door of the compartment his friends were in.

Lily spoke up, "You think that I can't see through you? I know everything that bothers and annoys you. Just because you have 'changed' doesn't mean you've won yet." At this Lily smirked and walked off leaving James quite angered.

"Moony tells us you were quite the gentlemen at the prefects meeting," Sirius said, as James sat down next to Sirius in their compartment.

"You could say that," James said, not in the least amused by his comment.

"Aw, our little Prongs is growing up," Sirius said, wiping away a fake tear.

"Shut up Padfoot, I'm not in the mood," James said, getting up and pushing Sirius away from the window seat; he ignored his cry 'hey' as he did this.

"Ok, what happened? Please don't tell me you blew your top after I left." Remus asked.

"No, it's Lily." James said.

"Look whatever happened, you can get over it," Remus said, trying to uplift his spirits.

"She is planning to sabotage this whole thing. She doesn't know this is hard enough already." James said, starting to yell.

"Look, just make sure one of us is with you at all times, together we can always help you cool down." Remus said.

"What about prefect and head meetings? Let's not forget about the heads' room!" James said, standing up and pacing around the room.

"You'll be fine. Don't forget if you can't be in a room anymore because of the 'tension' just leave." Sirius said with a smile, trying to bring humor into the uptight atmosphere in their compartment.

"Alright." James said with a smile, although still looking out the window. This little chat with Remus hadn't clamed his nerves, but they did reassure him of one thing; his friends were going to help him through this, no matter what Lily did against him, and after the week, he could get her back with full force.

"How about a game?" Sirius asked.

"Sure," the three said.

* * *

"Can you believe he was made head boy? How could Dumbledore make a person like that head boy? Who are his influences, Sirius Black, and oh yea, that says a lot about him! He wasn't even a prefect! God this year is going to be hell!" Lily yelled, throwing herself on the chair with her arms crossed.

"Come on Lily, it isn't going to be that bad." Cora said, who was sitting across from her.

"Oh sure, seeing Potter everyday and night is going to make my life so much better." Lily said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"It might," Kyra said, moving a bit away from Lily incase she decided to take a swing at her for her comment.

"Are you on my side or his?" Lily asked the two, throwing her arms down at her side.

"Yours of course, but Lily you are being really immature about this." Kyra said.

"I know, geez, you were always the mature one of the group," Cora said, backing Kyra up.

"Except when it came to James." Kyra said, causing Cora and Kyra to state laughing.

"Oh, you know what else. He asked me to call him James." Lily said, trying to get her friends back on her side, if they ever were on her side.

"You really should start calling him by his first name anyway." Kyra said and then put up her hands for emphasis, "The whole 'Potter' thing is getting a bit old."

"You guys are no friends of mine right now. Real friends would be complaining about him just as I am. None of you can obviously see the seriousness of the situation I am in." Lily said.

"We are your friends, we are just saying James really isn't that bad once you get to know him." Cora said.

"Plus, you know you don't really hate him, just the things he does. So, this new James might catch your eye." Kyra said.

"Hell would freeze over before I fell for James Potter! But that reminds me, we have to plan to make this week for him complete torture." Lily said, with an evil smirk.

"I don't like that look Lily, makes you look like one of them." Cora said, talking about the four Gryffindor boys.

"Well, Ms. Evans, what exactly did you have in mind?" Kyra asked, with a smirk similar to Lily's.

* * *

"Aren't you supposed to be in the head's study room to go over some head duties with James tonight?" Kyra asked, as they headed toward the Gryffindor common room.

"No, we already talked about that with the prefects today. But then again, I may want to see what it looks like before Potter gets to it and ruins it," Lily said, as they reached Gryffindor tower.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Cora said.

"Alright, I'll go," Lily said, walking past the common room, "I'll see guys later tonight, I won't be long."

"See ya," the two said, as the door closed.

By the time Lily got to the head's room James was already there sitting on the couch looking into the fire, he obviously wanted to see the room. However the fact that he was laying on the couch gave her the idea that he had other motives for being in the room.

"Daydreaming Potter?" Lily asked, not having any energy to come up with a better remark.

However he didn't answer her, so she went to go see what he was doing. What she found shocked her.

"He's asleep," Lily said in a whisper.

She had never pictured what he would look like asleep. People always said that everyone looks sweet and innocent in their sleep, and all the hate in the world could not change the fact that he looked cute laying their with his hair in his face. Watching him sleeping there, Lily began to think of a way to blackmail him for falling asleep in the room.

Lily smirked; she had a great idea and it was so much better than blackmail.

* * *

Kyra got up from her bed quietly, so not to wake Cora, Lily or her other peers up. She headed down to the common room with a blanket around her, for this early in September, it was pretty cold.

"You're late," Sirius said, sitting with his arms folded on the couch.

"No, you're early." Kyra said, sitting in the chair opposite him.

"Well, what did you want anyway?" Sirius said, being a bit crabby because he wanted his 'beauty' sleep.

"No need to be angry at me, I am doing this for the good of your best friend." Kyra said, giving Sirius some attitude back.

"You mean this is about Lily," Sirius said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Of course, what else did you think this was about?" Kyra asked.

"Never mind, just tell me what you want me to know and quickly. I'm tired." Sirius said, with a yawn.

"Lily has a lot of plans to get James back for changing…is he ready for them?" Kyra asked, with a worried tone.

"He is as ready as he could ever be, but he still has the same weakness he has always had." Sirius said.

"James, has a weakness, I never knew he had one." Kyra asked, with a bit of curiosity.

"You know what it is, you just don't realize it." Sirius said, shaking his head, his voice becoming softer.

"What you guys?"

"No, but that is a close second," Sirius said, as if being second never bothered him so much, "No, number one is Lily."

"Really?"

"Yup, the way he acts in front of her is just his way of trying to get her attention." Sirius said, with a smirk.

"I knew that, but I didn't know she was his weakness." Kyra said, with a smile, "That is good blackmail material."

"That is not why I told you."

"Hmm," Kyra said, getting out of her little world filled with ideas of blackmail.

"As long as Lily is not in any danger he should be able to hold himself."

"Oh, I get it. It makes perfect sense." Kyra said.

"Good, now can I go to bed?" Sirius asked, scratching his arm.

"Yea, just one more question."

"What?" Sirius said, in an annoyed tone.

"Does this count as a day?"

"You mean concerning the bet, I believe so. If you really want to know check Lily's wrist tomorrow."

"It will tell me?"

"Yes, now go up to bed. I am exhausted," Sirius said, already on the first step toward the boys' dormitory.

"Night Sirius."

"Night." Sirius said, continuing up the stairs.

* * *

A/N: The next chapter should be up soon. Sorry the chapters are not as long as the first one was but they will probably an average of this length from now on. PLEASE REVIEW! Gives Sirius Puppy Eyes

**Just so you all know, I am currently changing the fact that Lily and James have their own dorm because they are head boy and girl. Now, I don't think that the head's have their own dorm, but a study room to do work in or to have meetings with Dumbledore in, or to plan things for the school, is a better and more sensible idea. So if the later chapters, since I am editing all the chapters to add more detail and fix grammar, I have the two in their separate dorm, either think of it being the Head's study room or the Gryffindor common room. Sorry for the inconvenience!**


	4. Lily's Payback

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else."  
-Will Rogers_

**Chapter 4: Lily's Payback**

James awoke the next morning to the smell of a fire that had recently been burnt out. That warm crisp air caused him to become aware of his surroundings quicker than he normally would, so he could tell that he had fallen asleep in the head's study room. (Although he did not have his glasses on, which he did not recall taking off, the furniture was made of a softer less durable fabric; James guessed that Dumbledore believed the head students were better behaved then the rest of the students.) The last thing he remembered from the night before was he was seated in front of the fire, waiting for Lily to come in so he could have a good talk with her since their last discussion did not go in the direction he wished it to go. Still, before he could do anything, he had to find his glasses and since he did not know where they were, he started feeling around for them. But when he tried to move his arms they wouldn't. Now that he realized it, his legs could not move either.

"Great," James said out loud in a grown. 'It's the first day of classes,' James thought, 'and I am going to be late. I'm Head Boy too, some good that will put on Dumbledore's record.'

Just when he was about to loose hope, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Lily!" James yelled.

"Potter, have you finally woken up. Since you obviously can't get up," Lily said, being very amused at James' state.

"You did this?"

"Of course I did, who else has access to this room. You don't think a professor would do this?" Lily said smiling.

"Ok Lily, you've had your laugh, now let me out." James said.

"No, I don't think I will." Lily said.

"Why the hell not?" James said, starting to get angry.

"You never let any of your prank victims off easy, so I am not giving you any courtesy." Lily said, as she sat next to him on the couch.

"What about classes Lily, if I am missing and a professor finds me here then you'll be blamed." James said trying to reason with her.

"Why would a professor go looking for you? They will probably just think you over slept. Which is typical Potter behavior I believe." Lily said getting up from her seat and moving to the door.

"Lily, please." James said being as sincere as Lily had every heard him be.

At this comment Lily started to feel sorry for him. Maybe she was being too harsh. Not only would he get in trouble by the professors but if she got caught as the perpetrator then she would be in trouble too. But Lily had to do something to make him change. If she got him to hex her in the hallway or anyone else, then the bet would be off. And one detention on her record was worth a year without Potter breathing down her neck.

"Sorry, no can do Potter," Lily said and left the room.

Lily walked down to the Great Hall and found her two friends already there.

"Hey Lily, did you find your book?" Cora asked as Lily sat down at the table.

"Yeah, I guess I left it in there when I ha that meeting with Potter yesterday." Lily said as she started buttering her toast, she had told her friends she had left a book in the Heads Common Room in order to have a good excuse to see if her prank had worked.

"Well once you warm up to James I am sure you won't have to bring a book to keep you occupied anymore." Kyra said.

"I am going to ignore that comment and pretend you never said it." Lily said with a smile.

"Ok, why are you in such a good mood?" Cora asked.

"No reason." Lily said, still smiling.

"Come on Lily. I know that smile, that smile means you are up to something. What did you do?" Kyra asked.

"Nothing I swear." Lily said putting up her hands in defense.

"You were never good at lying Lily." Kyra said.

"Classes are going to start soon, we should head off." Lily said looking at her watch and getting up from the table.

"You are ignoring the question which proves even more that you did something." Kyra said, following her with Cora trailing behind them.

Lily just ignored them; she just kept walking in front of the two.

"Yup, she is definitely guilty of whatever she did." Cora said with a smile to Kyra.

Just as they were about to leave the Hall someone caught Lily's arm.

"Have you seen James this morning?" Sirius asked Lily.

"Can't say I have. Maybe he is off doing a prank or something." Lily said, releasing her arm from his grip.

"First of all, James would never do a prank without my knowledge and he wouldn't be able to pull it off without my help," Sirius said proudly, "Second, he wouldn't do a prank or anything else to jeopardize the bet you two had."

"Don't be too sure of yourself." Lily said walking away from him.

The three walked out of the Hall but Sirius, Remus, and Peter were right on their tail.

"Did he fall asleep in your common room because we don't remember him coming back last night from your meeting?" Remus asked when the three caught up with Lily and her friends.

"I don't know." Lily hesitantly said, out of the marauders she hated lying to Remus the most, but, he was still one of them, "But why are you asking me? You four can break into anything and you guys know almost all the passwords for every door in this school. So why don't you three just go in there yourselves and find out." Lily said, stopping her pace and facing the three.

"We don't know that password yet, James wouldn't tell us." Sirius said.

"That's a surprise, I would have expected that to be the first thing to come out of his mouth. Right behind asking me out for about the hundred time," Lily said.

"But he hasn't has he?" Remus asked Lily.

"Hasn't what?" Lily asked back.

"He hasn't asked you out this year so far has he?" Remus asked looking straight into her eyes.

"Not yet, but I am sure he will do it soon enough." Lily said trying to cover up the truth.

"He has changed Lily, whether you choose to see it or not." Remus said as the two groups spilt up.

"Why is it that everything that comes out of his mouth sounds so scholarly?" Kyra asked, once the boys were out of earshot.

"It's Remus, he always has a way of saying things. He can even make a false belief seem true." Lily said as the three continued walking.

"But he is right you know, James has changed," Cora said.

"James…James that's it. You did something to James didn't you." Kyra said as she stood in front of Lily, which caused the other two to stop walking.

"So what if I did, he deserves it." Lily said walking around her friend.

"Depends on what you did." Kyra said.

"Lily, what did you do?" Cora asked.

"Nothing major, I just made him stick to the couch and I stole something from him while he was sleeping." Lily said.

"What did you take?" Cora asked.

"These," Lily said smiling, taking James' glasses from her pocket.

"Oh my God, no you didn't." Kyra said grinning and taking them from her hand.

"You bet I did." Lily said starting to laugh.

"That's great Lily, but…" Kyra said.

"But what?" Lily asked as she stopped laughing.

"You really should give them back. I mean leaving him stuck in a place is one thing but leaving him unable to see straight." Kyra said giving the glasses back to Lily.

"You're not actually feeling sorry for him are you?" Lily asked, not believing that her friends would side with him. After all he had done to them and the rest of the student body, they had the nerve to feel bad for him when he was finally the one getting pranked.

"Well, part of me thinks this is funny. But the other part is telling me that you should have done this on a weekend so he wouldn't get in trouble for it from the professors." Kyra said.

"That's how I feel too, part thrilled, part pity." Cora said.

"He'll be fine. How blind can he be without his glasses anyways?" Lily said as the three walked into their first class.

"How did they beat us here?" Kyra said looking at the Peter and Remus.

The three sat behind the two.

"Where is Sirius?" Cora asked Remus.

"He is out looking for James."

"Why didn't he just come to class? If James is late that is his fault." Lily said, her attitude from the morning still in her voice.

"You think that Lily because you don't really know Sirius. Him and James were best mates even before Hogwarts. Sirius wants to make sure nothing happened to him." Remus said.

"We would be out their looking too, but Sirius said it would look less suspicious if me and Remus were to go to class." Peter said. Peter was never one to say much; he was the quiet type. But that never bothered any of the guys.

At that point the bell rang which signaled the start of class.

* * *

The bell rang, but Sirius didn't care. He stood outside of the Head's common room and tried to think of the most logical password. It would have been so much easier if James had just told him the password. The Marauder's Map was useless, except that it verified with what Sirius already knew. Sirius knew James was in the Head's room, but since the password wasn't logged in to the Map, it didn't really help him. Luckily most teachers were teaching a class, so the thought of a teacher catching him was slight.

"This is hopeless," Sirius said to himself.

He knew the only way to get into the locked room in front of him was to get Dumbledore to tell him the password, but with his reputation that would never happen. Sirius didn't know how long he was standing their saying words and phrases that just came to his head, when he noticed the dot, which said 'James Potter' started moving. The dot moved straight to the door, which Sirius was standing in front of, but then it slowly backed away from the door.

"Prongs," Sirius yelled inside.

But there was no answer.

"Must be a sound proof door," Sirius said to himself. "This is driving my nuts. One morning spent worrying about James and the next minute I am talking to myself."

At that moment the bell rang.

'Great," Sirius thought.

"Sirius get out of the way," Lily said pushing him away and running up to the door. She said the password in a whisper, but Sirius' dog like ears picked up every syllable, it was Animagi.

Sirius tensed up. How could he have been so stupid, that word should have been one of the first to come out of his lips.

The two, Sirius and Lily, ran into the room.

"How did you get yourself out Potter?" Lily asked as she ran to give him his glasses.

"Being friends with me would teach him a lot more then how to escape from a tight situation." Sirius said going back to his usual carefree self.

"Lily, why the fuck did you do that to me?" James said going right up to Lily. The two's faces were so close that if they would have been lovers instead of enemies they would have kissed each other.

"It was a prank. Just like the many you have done to others over the years." Lily said yelling back.

"It was stupid Lily, what are you planning to get out of this?" Sirius asked.

"You stay out of this Sirius, this is none of your business." Lily said raising her finger to him.

"This is my business you little bitch. When my best mate goes missing without a trace, it is my business!" Sirius said yelling at her.

"Don't you dare call me a little bitch, at least I have a family who cares for me!" Lily yelled.

"You know if you weren't a girl, I would let you have it right now." Sirius said in a cold whisper.

"Is that the only thing stopping you?" Lily said in a taunting voice.

"That's enough!" James yelled.

The two people just looked at him as if they forgot he had anything to do with this argument.

"Lily I don't know why in the world you stuck me to the couch, took my glasses, and locked the door from the inside, but what ever the reason I am going to over look it. And Sirius, I can fight my own battles." James said walking out of the room.

Lily and Sirius just watched James leave the room.

"We should get to class," Lily said in her normal tone and left the room.

"Yea, I guess," Sirius said following after her.

* * *

"I'll see you guys later, I've got to meet McGonagall for detention." James said to his three friends in the Gryffindor common room later that night

"I thought you got out of that since Lily confessed to the whole thing." Remus said picking up his head from the book he was reading.

"Well apparently every teacher in this school loves to give me detentions. She just gave me one, so I am free if you guys want to do something tomorrow night." James said walking to the door.

"Bye," the three guys said as James left the room.

"I hope they are not in the same room tonight," Remus said.

"Yea, they might kill each other off if they are," Sirius said, "That show down would make a lot of money on tickets."

Remus laughed, "At least Prongs only got one detention, Lily got two."

"How come only two?" Peter asked.

"Yea, if it were me I would have gotten a week, maybe more!" Sirius said, obviously upset that Lily got out of this situation pretty much without punishment.

"First offense," Remus said turning a page of his book.

"And being McGonagall's favorite student gives her an edge as well." Sirius said taking out James' old snitch and playing with it.

"Probably," Remus said.

"At least he made it through the whole ordeal. I blew up at Lily today for what she did and I wasn't even the one caged up." Sirius said.

"I guess James has more control then he lets on." Remus said.

"Power to him then, because if Lily did that on only the second day, what is the rest of the week going to be like." Sirius said.

"I don't even want to fathom it Padfoot." Remus said with a smile, though he did not take his eyes off his book.

* * *

A/N: there you go chapter 4! PLEASE REVIEW!

Kudos to everyone that did review:

PatchLover08

evans

PadfootandProngs91

JKR

lilypad-7879

Reading Redhead

aliceghost

melody-dance


	5. Winners and Losers

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize

_"What we call the beginning is often the end.  
And to make an end is to make a beginning.  
The end if where we start from."  
-T. S. Elliot_

**Chapter 5: Winners and Losers**

Four days had gone by, and Lily and her friends had not attempted to force James into another situation. Apparently Lily was feeling sorry for what she had done to him on the first day of classes. She barely talked to anyone, except her closest friends. She wasn't her normal know-it-all-self; the incident had somehow changed her.

James had been quiet too. Sirius, Remus, and Peter even played a prank on the Slytherins to try and lighten his mood. He laughed at it for a while, but after an hour or two, he was back to this phlegmatic state.

It was on the night of the sixth day of the bet, when Lily found herself waiting in the Head's common room for James, in order to do something she had been keeping in for over four days. Although she felt hatred in her heart for him, her conscience had gotten the better of her. She knew what she did wasn't right, but she did it anyway. She reacted on instinct, instead of thinking her actions through, something her parents had always taught her to do. She didn't know how she was going to do the thing that had plagued her mind for a few days, but she had to do it somehow.

James walked in a few minutes later. He looked like his old unkempt-self, but his eyes told a different story. Ever since the beginning of the year, every time she looked in his eyes he seemed like he was hurting. He never openly showed it, but anyone with half a brain could tell something was wrong. But she didn't really care right now; she had something more important to discuss with him.

"Potter," Lily yelled at James, who upon seeing her, headed back for the door that he had just entered.

He just ignored her as she called him and continued on his way.

"Potter," she called again, but she got no answer.

And then she did something she never thought she would ever do, as the door opened for him to exit the room she called him, "James."

He turned around, a look of shock on his face. She didn't know if it was just shock or whether her calling him by name triggered it, but he let the door close behind him and walked toward her at a slow but steady pace.

"What, haven't you done enough already?" James asked in old-school-James style voice that Lily knew all too well.

"I have something important I want to talk to you about." Lily said starting to get nervous, "Can we sit down on the couch?"

James didn't answer; he just walked past her and sat on the couch. Lily followed suit.

They sat in silence for a bit until James spoke up, "If you wanted to talk, talk, or else I am going to bed."

"Don't rush me Potter, this is hard enough already," Lily said, taking her arms out of her lap and on the couch in a form of protest.

"Oh, so it's Potter now."

"Just shut up and listen ok."

James just gave her a look that told her to get on with it.

"Alright," Lily said rubbing her hands on her skirt, they were sweating because of her nervousness. "My actions toward you have been totally and completely wrong. I'm sorry for what I have done to you and your friends." Lily took as breathe.

"You sound as if you have been rehearsing this all day," James said with a smirk.

"At least I am trying to do the right thing by apologizing, which is more than I can say for you." Lily said.

James mumbled something, which Lily could not hear.

"You say something?" Lily asked in a not-to-be-dealt-with tone.

"No," James said.

"Then may I continue." Lily asked.

"Be my guest," James said.

"I," Lily said getting back to her normal tone, "I have realized that two wrongs, don't make a right and that my actions would have be shunned upon by my parents. So, because I don't want to live with guilt all my life, I am asking you to forgive me."

"Sure, whatever," James said getting up from his seat.

"I don't think you understand what I am saying Potter. I am sorry!" Lily said getting up and following him.

"I understand perfectly, I just have other things on my mind right now. Not that I am unimpressed with you statement, I just am in a horrible state right now." James said looking sincere.

"I don't know why I am doing this, but I will believe you. But I ask for a handshake, so as to make my forgiveness binding." Lily said giving her hand.

"Fine," James said giving his hand. "Your hand is sweaty," James said heading out of the room.

"Sorry, I guess I am just nervous." Lily said trying to cover her embarrassment with a smile.

"It's ok, but what have you got to be nervous about anyway?" James asked, stopping right before the exit.

"Well, I am asking forgiveness from my enemy. Blackmail could come into play at any moment."

"I should have thought of that earlier." James said, bringing his pointer finger and thumb to his chin.

"Whatever Potter," Lily said heading back to the couch. Although she wanted to leave, she did not want to leave with him.

"Goodnight Lily," James said, leaving the room

"Night Potter," Lily answered back.

Lily sat back on the couch not feeling an ounce of regret for what she had done tonight. She was truly sorry, but she still had a problem on her hands. Tomorrow was the last day she could get back at him. She had to do something. Not something like what she did on the first day of classes, but something bad enough to make him hex someone in the hallway; something that would make her not seem like the one to blame.

So she thought for a while, and then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She had been so stupid. So, she got herself off the comfortable couch and wrote a letter to the one person who could make James angry any day of the week. She then raced quietly and swiftly to the Owlry, and tied it to her owl's leg and sent her off into the night.

She waited about a half-hour and then she finally got a response. She hadn't said in the letter who wrote it or what he had to do, just that she wanted to meet him in the morning at a certain location. If she could get his help in this situation, then it would, without a doubt, work. So, feeling fulfilled for the night, Lily raced back to the Gryffindor Common Room and went to bed.

* * *

James woke up the next morning full of confidence; Lily had not made a ruckus since the last incident with the couch on the first day of classes. He felt confident that he could make it through one more day, so that he could finally get a date with Lily.

He was ready in only a few minutes and he reached the Great Hall just in time to see the mail coming in for that day. As James went for his seat by his friends, a letter was dropped at his feet. He picked it up and walked to his seat, not thinking anything of the letter.

"What you got there Prongs?" Sirius said.

"I don't know," James said, "My parents never send me just a letter, it usually comes with a few snacks from home for you."

Sirius just smiled and started jumping up and down, like a playful dog waiting for a reward.

"Open it then, it looks kind of important," Remus said, ignoring Sirius' childish behavior.

So at that James opened it and began reading the letter.

Sirius, not paying attention to his friend's expressions, right now he was fully focused on his food, said, "This is the last day of the bet right, feeling…"

However he stopped there when he looked up and saw James' face. He looked as if he were about to cry, but James Potter never cried.

"Prongs, what's the matter?" Sirius asked.

"Prongs?" Remus and Peter encouraged when Sirius didn't get a response.

James then suddenly got up from his seat and left the room, taking the letter with him.

"Prongs?" Sirius yelled after him as he left, "James."

The three followed James out of the Great Hall, only to find that he was nowhere to be found.

"He wants to be alone apparently," Remus said calmly as the other two still looked panicked over their distressed friend.

In response to Remus' words, Sirius just ran off in the direction of the dormitories.

"Padfoot where are you going?" Remus yelled, running up to him with Peter behind him.

"I have to find him," Sirius said, not slowing down his pace to his dorm.

"He wants to be alone, he will tell us what it said when he is ready," Remus said, taking hold of Sirius arm and causing him to stop moving.

"I don't care what you say. Did you see his face, he needs us now," Sirius said leaving Peter and Remus standing where they were as he started running again.

Sirius turned around and yelled to them, "You coming or not?"

At that Peter and Remus ran up to Sirius the three ran to the dorms, looking for the Marauder's Map.

* * *

James could not believe it. How could this happen to him? Everything was going so well, and now this. James knew his friends were following him but he didn't care. He wasn't even paying attention to where he was going; he just walked where his feet took him. Unfortunately, it was right into trouble.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't pot head. But where is your faithful little dog…or has he gone hunting rat today?" Snape said as James turned a corner.

"Shut the fuck up Snivellus!" James yelled, not in the mood for games at the moment.

"Oh, a bit touché this morning aren't we." Snape said, coming out of the shadows he was hiding in until James came.

"Last time I checked you were never the one to start a fight."

"It seems my day to shine has finally come."

"You've got a hell of an ego now don't you?"

"I have aged I over the summer, unlike others." Snape said with a smile, looking at James

At this James could not take it anymore, he ran up the Snape, forgetting completely about magic, and punched Snape's face.

"You want a fight you got it," Snape said sending a punch James' way.

As the fistfight went on for a bit, James' wrist had started to burn horribly. Then he realized what had happened. The bet, he had forgotten completely about it and now, every time he punched Snape, he was loosing the bet more and more. So, regrettably, James pushed Snape to the ground and ran from the scene.

Lily then came out of the shadows and tried to help Snape off the ground.

"Don't touch me you stupid mudblood. Now," Snape said getting off of the ground, "where is my money?"

Lily handed the coins over to Snape and then he ran in the direction of his common room. Lily was about to leave too when she saw a letter on the floor. Being curious, she saw that it was addressed to James Potter.

Although something told her not to open it, she did. She read it and gasped.

_Mr. James Potter_

_We regret to inform you that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has killed your parents: Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Potter, on the sixth of September. They were courageous people who, before they fell themselves, took out some of the Dark Lord's most valued men. I personally offer you my regrets and hope that you have learned much from these honorable persons._

_Sincerely,_

_The Minister of Magic_

_Millicent Bagnold_

Lily just looked at the paper in shock and said, "I always pick the worst time to take revenge. Well I guess this is what I get for stooping to his level."

Lily then looked at her wrist; she almost could cry. During James' and Snape's fight, the band had started to get lighter and lighter. But now it was as dark as ever, may be even darker then before. Great, not only was she going to have to make this up to James, but her plan didn't even work.

"Well," Lily said, "I guess I owe it to James to at least go out on a date with him to make up for what I did."

* * *

(A/N: I will probably have the next chapter up by Tuesday or Wednesday. Just to let you know I want to update every three or four days. If I have a good day or I get a lot of reviews I will update more often. Anyway PLEASE REVIEW! GIVES SIRIUS PUPPY EYES! Come on how could you say no reviews to a face like that!) 


	6. Mourning

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

A/N: Just a quick thought before you read this chapter. I like the fact that my story is giving people a new view of how Lily may have acted in her youth. I think it shows her not as the perfect person some people make her out to be, sorry if you like stories like that but I am just trying to show a different view. Maybe you don't like how Lily is acting or maybe you do. Anyway I just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews. YOU GUYS ROCK!

_Over the mountain and over the waves,  
Under the fountains and under the graves;  
Under the floods that are deepest, which __Neptune__ obey,  
Over rocks that are steepest, Love will find out the way.  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 6: Mourning**

Lily ran with all her strength to the Gryffindor Tower, where she hoped she would find James. She felt so stupid. All her life she was determined, when engaged in a fight, never to sink down to the level of her opponent. Now, she not only did it twice, but she hurt any possible reconcilement by hurting him on the day he found out his parents had been killed by Voldemort. Lily cursed herself all the way to the common room for her wrong doing. She had already asked him for forgiveness a few days ago, and then she went and did something even worse.

She stopped running where she was. She realized that James was no longer the 'bad' guy in all this; she was. She was the one who caused the pain for those in the Gryffindor house. A sick feeling of regret came to her and she sat down on the ground right where she stood. How could she face him? The only good thought she had in her head was that he had no idea she was behind the meeting of him and Snape. However, Lily was never one to hold in such a horrible secret; she knew she had to tell him sometime. But not now, when he was already in so much pain.

Lily looked at her wrist. She didn't understand why the band had gotten darker when she was sure it was about to fade during the fight. May be, because of his mourning, his actions were not based on impressing anyone, he only did them because of the stress currently on him. But that wouldn't make sense with the initial fading of it. He could have, during the fight, looked at the band on his wrist and realized he was going against the bet. That could be why he ran away from the fight so quickly. Only if he felt he was doing wrong could the band get darker after such an incident. If James was able to walk away from a fight, which he was winning, that meant he really wanted to win the bet.

Lily thought, 'Does he really care about me that much, that he would walk away from a fight?'

Lily did not know what to think. She sat there, perplexed by the situation, until she heard an all-to-familiar voice.

"Lily, what are you doing on the floor?" Kyra asked, looking at her friend in the most peculiar way.

"Just thinking," Lily said in a dream like state. She then came back to reality and asked her friend the question that was truly on her mind, "Do you know where James is?"

"Probably in the common room," Kyra said.

"Thanks," Lily said running off toward the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey Lily," Kyra said catching up with her friend, "Did you just call James by his first name."

"I guess I did," Lily said with the realization coming to her head.

"About time," Kyra said, with a smile, before the two ran into the common room.

They found the common room pretty much empty, as it was a beautiful Saturday and most people were outside, except for Remus and Peter.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kyra asked.

They didn't answer her; all they did was turn and look in her eyes.

"Oh my God," Kyra said when she found that they looked as if they were going to cry, "what happened?"

Kyra went over and hugged Remus while Lily went over to Peter.

Remus spoke up, "James, his parents, Voldemort killed them."

Tears came to Kyra's eyes. Although Kyra had never met the Potters, she was always hearing about them from her parents. They were great people, and great aurors.

"Oh my God," Kyra said hugging Remus even tighter.

Lily thought about it at first and then decided on it. She was going to talk to James.

"Is he upstairs?" Lily asked Peter.

"You might not want to go up there…he won't even let me and Remus in. Only Sirius is up there with him."

"Why not you guys too?" Lily asked.

"Sirius and him are like brothers. Besides the fact the Sirius spent enough time at James' house to be a blood relative, Sirius is his best friend. Who else better to be up there with him?" Peter said sounding a bit like Remus.

Lily then left his side and started going up the stairs. To her surprise, neither f the two boys stopped her, they were probably too exhausted to run after her. When she got to the boys' door she opened the door slowly, as to not disturb the people inside. She walked inside and heard sounds she never thought she would here from James and Sirius, or any man on the planet; they were crying. Laughter may have come to mind had the situation been suitable, but an overwhelming feeling of guilt came over her. She found them on a bed, she guess Sirius', giving each other a brotherly hug.

"Umm…" Lily said trying to get their attention.

They released each other immediately after hearing her voice and dried their tears.

"What are you doing in here?" Sirius asked, his usually playful mannerisms in his voice were no longer present. His voice was cold, ever more stolid then when Lily had brought up Sirius' parents a few days ago in the Head's common room.

"I wanted to see James…I have something I want to say to him." Lily said, looking at her feet.

Sirius then got up off the bed and walked Lily over to the door.

"Lily, can it wait until tomorrow. I know James; he should be better by tomorrow. He is…" Sirius said, trying to hold the tears back in his eyes.

When she saw this, Lily hugged him with all her might.

You see Sirius had always been close with the Potters. They were like his stepparents, since his own didn't love him. Sirius had moved in with the Potters at the beginning of the summer because he couldn't take his life at home anymore. They always welcomed him with a smile and they loved him for who he was. They didn't care if the Black name was usually accompanied by a ruthless Slytherin, they knew Sirius was different then the rest of his family. In fact, to Sirius, the Potters were his family. But now they were gone; Voldemort had taken them from this world.

"Alright," Lily said letting Sirius go, "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Thanks Lily," Sirius said giving a little smile, although his smile never reached his eyes, "I owe you one."

At that Lily left. She walked down the stairs to find that Cora had found her way into the common room and was now comforting Peter.

"You ok Lily?" Kyra asked, from her position, she was still with Remus.

"I'll be fine, I am going for a walk though." Lily said and left the room destined for 'her tree' outside on the Hogwarts grounds.

When she arrived at the tree, she sat down. This was her thinking spot, she came here when ever a lot was on her mind. She thought about what this all meant. The Potters had been killed just like Cora's parents during her sixth year. Lily had a feeling that this war would not end peacefully. She somehow knew many innocent lives would be taken by this evil man, if the cold blooded killer he was could be called a man.

She was scared. This was her last year at Hogwarts, and once she got out into the real world she would have to live with the threat of Voldemort attacking her and those she loved. Although Lily didn't know what plan Voldemort had, she knew that killing only wizards would not satisfy his needs. Voldemort hated muggles and muggleborns; Lily had overheard Dumbledore telling McGonagall that. Lily was scared for all the people that were close to her, since she was muggleborn. If the attacks rose in number in the next month or so, then she would write to her parents and tell them to be on watch. She knew they couldn't defend themselves very well against a wizard, but at least they could keep their eyes open for any strange happenings around the neighborhood. But it no use in worrying them now.

Lily also thought about James. This year he had been so kind to her and all she could do was yell in his face. He had grown up during the summer and Lily was still the immature little brat. She didn't know what to think of herself. At this moment Lily felt completely and utterly alone. Her friends were biased in everything they talked about and her family was who knows how many miles away. She had no one she could really talk to about what she should do. She felt lost, like a puppy out in the rain trying to find his way home.

Before Lily knew it the sun was starting to set and the chill of the evening came upon her. She held her cloak close to her as she made her way inside. Although she had missed dinner, she didn't feel hungry. She as unsure of the time, but all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, the day she would tell James exactly what happened today and how sorry she was. With this thought, Lily fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: I know it is a short chapter, I AM SORRY. If I made it any longer it would have been boring. Plus this is a sad chapter, I hate writing sad chapters. Anyway I should have the next chapter up soon. Just to let you know, the date will either be with the next chapter or the one after that, so not too much longer. I will try and get another chapter up soon since I feel I am being horrible by giving you a short chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! 


	7. Chats and Realizations

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

A/N: I've decided that I don't really know when the date will be. I got a review that said I shouldn't rush it, and it makes sense not to. It will be soon, but not as soon as I said in the last chapter.

_"I feel like I'm all alone  
All by myself I need to get around this  
My words are cold  
I don't want them to hurt you  
If I show you  
I don't think you'd understand  
'Cause no one understands."_

_Take Me Away: Avril Lavigne_

**Chapter 7: Chats and Realizations**

Lily woke up to find the sun shinning into her dorm. She hated the sun, at this moment. I was always shinning, even on the worst days of people's lives. It had no consideration for the people on earth who were suffering.

"I'm going to get pissed off at everything today, aren't I?" Lily asked herself.

When she was ready to face the world, most importantly face James, she walked down the stairs. Lily walked down to the Great Hall, excepting to find it empty, since it was still early on a Sunday. But there were a few people up, mostly from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but there were two from Gryffindor and one of them was James. Lily worked up all her Gryffindor courage, if she had any, and walked over the James and sat next to him.

They sat in silence, as if James didn't even notice Lily was next to him.

"Hey James," Lily said after a minute of silence.

She got no reply.

"I see your eating today, that's an improvement from yesterday," Lily said again trying to get James to talk to her.

"Do you have a point in talking to me, because you're starting to annoy me," James said snapping at Lily.

"I have to talk to you," Lily said.

James just looked at her with eyes that said she should tell him here. She noticed something else in his eyes, as she gazed into them; they were filled with hurt. Tears almost came to her eyes, to see him like this, but she held them back.

"Perhaps somewhere we could be alone." Lily said.

"Fine," James said getting up from his seat and walking out of the Great Hall, with Lily on his heals. He was walking so fast that before she knew it, they were in front of the Head's common room. James said the password and the two walked in.

"So, speak." James said, as he sat down opposite to where Lily was heading to sit.

'May be this was a bad idea,' Lily thought, 'he's already pissed as it is.'

"Say something or I am leaving," James said, he voice starting to rise.

"You know the…um…encounter you had with Snape yesterday?" Lily asked.

"How did you know about that…I didn't tell anyone?" James asked, still annoyed.

"Um…I…I told him to do it." Lily said looking at her hands in her lap.

"What!" James yelled getting up from his seat and putting his face close to Lily's.

"I'm sorry, that's what I came to say. If I had known…"

"You told him to fight me! What kind of a person goes around causing fights to happen in these halls?" James yelled, starting to move around the room.

"Look, I'm sorry. If I knew your parents had died the same day, I would have called it off." Lily said, tears coming to her eyes.

"You know Lily, I think we both changed during the summer. I changed for the better and you for the worse." James said, bringing his voice down to its normal level.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, although not really wanting to know the answer.

"I've tried to grow up and stop all the fighting and hexing in the hallways, but you. You are stooping to a level I never thought I would see you do. You're acting like me, the old me." James said, partially yelling.

"And how is that so bad?" Lily asked, half-yelling back, "It worked for you for six years!"

"I don't like that side of me, nor do I like that side of you. I look up to you Lily." James said, looking into her eyes.

Lily didn't know what to say. He looked up to her; she never expected that.

"I have to go," James half-yelled leaving the Head's common room before Lily had a chance to respond.

When he left Lily burst into tears and ran from the room, the room reminded her of him. She ran to her tree.

She sat there, silently crying, for who knows how long; she had no sense of time. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"James?" Lily silently asked.

"No," Remus said, sitting down with her on the ground.

"How did you know I was here?" Lily asked, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"Some boy named, Robert from our house said you looked sad. He said he couldn't find any of your close friends, so he came to me." Remus said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Robert, Lily tutored him in Charms. He was a Gryffindor third year.

"Oh," Lily said, half glad that someone had come to comfort her, half upset that she was wasting Remus' time when he should be with James.

"What's the matter Lily, I've never seen you cry this much? Did something happen?" Remus asked.

"Nothing with Voldemort, just other things." Lily said, clinging to Remus.

"James?" Remus asked.

Lily didn't answer him, "I guess I picked the right answer then." Remus said, half smiling.

Lily just nodded her head that was resting on his shoulder.

"What happened with you guys?" Remus asked, releasing her from his grip.

Lily then told him the whole story; from when she asked Snape to fight, to when she tried to apologize to James. As she told the story, more tears fell from her eyes.

"I just feel so…so…guilty."

"James is just stressed right now. He is doing his best to handle his parents' death. He is doing a lot better then I thought he would." Remus said.

"Where is he now? Is he with someone? Please don't tell me you guys left him all alone." Lily questioned.

"Of course not, he's with Sirius. The only reason he wasn't with him this morning was because James wanted some time alone." Remus said.

"You all were up that early?" Lily asked.

"We didn't get much sleep." Remus answered.

"So now, he is even in a worse situation, because…because of me." Lily said, the tears starting to come back to her.

"Don't go blaming yourself, although you could have picked a better day to tell him." Remus said.

"I know. Do you think he will ever forgive me?" Lily asked.

"He will, in his own time. He needs time to heal. But he will forgive you, probably sooner then if anyone else had done that to him." Remus said looking into her eyes.

"Why?" Lily asked.

"James has liked you since fifth year and if he really likes you, he'll forget about what you did. Someone just can't forget someone they love that quickly." Remus said.

Lily didn't say anything back to him, but she quickly broke eye contact with him.

"Now, what do we say, you come back up the castle. I know two girls who are worried sick about you. First you disappear all day yesterday, and now you're gone today." Remus said standing up and reaching for Lily's hand, to help her up.

"Remus, can you do me a favor?" Lily asked, still sitting on the ground.

"Depends?" Remus asked with a smile

"Can you tell the girls that I don't feel well. I just need to be alone right now." Lily said.

"You sure?" Remus asked.

"Yea," Lily said.

"Alright then, but if your not in the Great Hall for dinner, I will come look for you." Remus said, trying to smile.

"Thanks," Lily said standing up and hugging Remus.

"No problem," Remus said, ruffling up her hair a bit with his left hand

"Why are you so easy to talk to Remus?" she asked, as she tried to put her hair back in place.

"I don't know, but everyone tells me that." Remus answered, "Well, I'll see you at or after dinner."

"All right, thanks again." Lily said sitting back down on the ground, as she watched him walk away.

She was alone again, but the emptiness that filled her yesterday wasn't there. She felt a warm feeling inside her because she knew people cared about her. She couldn't help but give a small smile. The smile quickly faded away when she remembered what she and Remus had been talking about. The whole time she was worried about James. James, she hadn't called him Potter ever since the incident with Snape. What was this sudden change in names and feelings toward James?

Lily was suddenly having feelings for her worst enemy. She felt confused and lost; she had no idea what she should do. She thought about this the whole day, until Remus came and got her after dinner.

The two went to the kitchen; somewhere Lily had never been, so Lily could eat. They didn't speak much to each other, just random things that came to the minds of teenagers. Remus then let her off at the base of her staircase, but not before giving her a hug before they departed.

Lily then went straight to bed, still thinking about James. As she lay on her bed, Lily could only make one rational explanation for why she felt for James, she liked James Potter. What a coincidence, just when he starts to hate her, she falls for him.

* * *

A/N: Another short chapter, sorry. But hey, I updated two days in a row…w00t to that! Next chapter may be up soon, maybe tomorrow or over the weekend, depends on how much of a mood I am in for writing.

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	8. It's Great To Have Friends

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated sooner, but I have been lazy and then I was running around all day on Saturday. I hope you enjoy it! PLEASE REVIEW!

_"A true friend is there for you, when he'd rather be anywhere else."  
-Len Wein_

**Chapter 8: It's Great to Have Friends**

It had been a week since Lily had attempted to apologize to James for her doings, and the two still hadn't said a word to each other. Lily and James spent all there time with their friends, acting as if their 'feelings' toward each other didn't exist. James no longer looked at Lily when he was bored in class and Lily stopped trying to get him to accept her apology. The two seemed destined to never work it out, but their friends were worried about the tension between the two. They needed a boost to at least talk to each other again (a/n: don't worry their not going to lock them in a closet and then POOF problems gone, that is way to over done. Plus I don't think that real problems like this can be solved that way…don't you think?).

James at this point, a week after hearing of his parents' death, was doing well for himself. He was now joking and laughing with his friends. But the feeling toward his parents was still present in his life. If he was alone or was just bored in class, he was often seen staring into space. He eyes would get all watery and he would block out the entire world from his mind. At these moments, his friends worried about him the most because he was the most vulnerable at these times.

Lily was not doing the best either. She was as unemotionally balanced as James was, except she expressed it more. She cried herself to sleep most nights. Lily was a girl who never did anything rash or anything against her moral standards. In this first try at being a normal teenager, who only wanted sweet revenge, she had failed. She caused a chain of events to occur that led to more then just shits and giggles. She went from hating James Potter, to feeling sorry for him. Unfortunately for her, her pity grew into a liking for him she thought she would never have to experience.

* * *

She sat quietly in front of the fire of the Gryffindor common room trying to finish the homework that Professor McGonagall had assigned them that day. Her friends were off doing something in the castle, they had asked her to go with them but Lily told them she had homework to finish. However, Lily's hope in getting any work done was failing miserably. Every time she would write a few lines on the parchment, her mind wandered. She thought about James and how he was cooping with his loss, along with her horrible treatment of him. She wished he would forgive her for what she did, but inside she knew it would take a miracle for them to reconcile with each other.

"Lily Evans, when you told us you had homework to do we thought it was on something due tomorrow," Kyra said, snatching away Lily's homework, "Not something due four days from now. Honestly, you need some fun in your life."

"Come upstairs with us Lily, we have to talk anyway," Cora said.

"No, I am having trouble concentrating on things lately, so I need all the time I can have to work on homework. Look," Lily said holding up her homework, "I have been working on this for two hours and I don't even have half of it done."

"Well, you have a few nights to work on it," Cora said, going over to Lily and pulling on one of her arms.

"No guys, I really should…"

"Lily," Kyra said, "You were never one to give up quality time with your friends before. Now, ever since the start of this year, all you can do is give us lame-ass excuses for not hanging out with us. So you are either angry at us for something, or you are scared to talk to us because you don't want us to find out your secrets."

"That's not true," Lily looking away from them, she had always been bad at lying.

"Lily, you think you can hide things from us. We already know what you think about James and his friends." Kyra said.

"Unless you want us to talk about right here, in front of all of Gryffindor, I suggest you some upstairs with us now." Cora said.

"Fine, but I still don't know what any of you are talking about." Lily said leading the way up to the girls' dormitories.

"Still as stubborn as ever," Kyra whispered to Cora.

"I heard that," Lily said walking into the dorm.

Each of the girls walked into the room and sat on their own bed, except Lily, who sat on Cora's.

"Lily," Kyra said. Her voice had changed from her normal funny mood, to all seriousness.

"Kyra, are you being serious? This must be a first since last year," Lily said referring to when Cora's parents died.

"I am, because I am worried about you," Kyra said turning to Lily.

"I can take care of myself," Lily said, moving her glance away from her friends.

"Obviously not, look at you! You can't even finish an easy assignment in one night, that isn't normal for you." Cora said.

"I'm just stressed that's all; the mix of being Head Girl and still keeping up all my grades."

"Let's not forget about a certain blacked-haired boy with glasses." Kyra said pointing out the real reason for Lily's stress.

"I think we should leave him out of this," Lily said with a bit of anger coming to her, she didn't feel like talking about him.

"Apparently I touched a nerve," Kyra said with a smile.

"Admit if Lily, you know you want to," Cora said, hitting Lily playfully on her arm.

"Admit what?" Lily asked trying to make it seem that she didn't know what they were talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me Miss Evans," Kyra said walking over to Lily, "Say it, you like James Potter."

"What!" Lily yelled, "How dare you think of something so…so…"

"True," Cora said.

"Yes," Lily said, but as soon as she realized what she said she quickly said, "No, no…I meant to say no."

"You may have meant to say no, but you subconsciously said yes, which proves our point," Kyra said moving back to her bed feeling accomplished.

"Now that that is taken care of, we can discuss how you are going to talk to him. You need to make up with him or the two of you are going to be miserable for the rest of the year." Kyra said.

"Plus, you don't want that black ring on your wrist anymore then you need to have it." Cora said, pointing to Lily's wrist.

"Well, what can I do? I tried to talk to him, but all he does is ignore me." Lily said.

"We took care of that while you were doing your homework." Kyra said with a smile.

"What did you do Kyra?" Lily asked, knowing the smile she had one meant she did something.

"Nothing of importance to you," she said.

"Let's just talk about what you need to do." Cora said.

* * *

It had been some time after dinner when the four boys found themselves in their dormitories.

"Prongs, when are you going to start going after Lily again?" Sirius asked randomly a mist the silence of the room.

"Why would I do a thing like that?" James asked.

"Don't play stupid, we all know you still like her." Sirius said.

"I used to like her. Plus I think someone else in this room is more interested in her than me." James said, "Don't you think so Moony?"

"Just because she has come to talk to me does not mean I am interested in her," Remus said in a sleepy tone, the full moon was approaching.

"You know you like her Moony, I know it. You spend too much time with her." James said starting to get angry.

"Are you jealous Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"No, what gave you that impression?" James asked, getting fiery with Sirius as well.

"Maybe it's the fact that every time those two meet all you do the whole time is watch them with the map." Sirius said with a smile.

"You were spying on us?" Remus asked with a tint of anger in his voice.

James didn't answer.

"Did you really think I would pull a stunt on Lily, the same girl who you have like since fifth year? You would kick my ass if I even touched a strand of her hair!" Remus half yelled.

James still didn't answer.

"Look Prongs," Remus yelled, "How could you spy on me. I am your friend, am I that untrustworthy?"

"I'm sorry Moony," James said, the stress buckling down on him.

"I don't think sorry is going to cut it Prongs," Remus yelled.

"What else do you want me to say Moony?"

"Fine, I guess 'sorry; will have to do, but I am only doing this because of your situation in your life right now." Remus said.

"Are you taking pity on me?"

"No, you're just luckily the full moon is coming up, or I would have fought on longer. I am just too tired right now." Remus said heading for his bed.

"Fine, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back late, don't wait up." James said getting up to leave.

"I'll walk to there, I want to stop at the kitchens anyway," Sirius said following James.

The two boys walked in silence for a while, until Sirius spoke up.

"You should at least listen to her mate, give her another chance." Sirius said.

"Is this why you wanted to come with me, to continue the talk about Lily. Padfoot I thought you better than anyone would understand that I don't like her anymore. How could I after what she has done?"

"If Moony has taught me anything, it's this; you just can't stop caring for someone. You changed for Lily and managed to stay like that for a whole week. Now if a guy does that for a girl, then he must care for her a hell of a lot. One little prank is not going to destroy that."

"You're hanging around Moony too much, you are starting to sound like him." James said, trying to get away from his best mate.

"I'm not like Moony. I am just saying that because you are forever going to feel miserable inside until you get your life back on track. You can start doing that by having that date Lily owes you."

"I don't even want to go out with her anymore."

"James," Sirius said sincerely. Whenever first names were used it usually meant that the next words out of their mouths were serious advice (A/N: no pun intended). "You have to at least give her a chance. Lily took one for you by taking part in this bet, the least you can do is take one for her."

"I'll think about it," James said as they faced the front of the kitchen.

"Just give her a chance, she made a mistake. You've made enough of them, just let this one of her's slide. Plus, Lily will start to get pissed if she has to wear a black band on her wrist all year." Sirius said with a grin.

"Fine, I'll talk to her. Then, seeing what she says, I will decide if I will go out with her once. Are you happy now?" James said looking Sirius right in the eye.

"Very," Sirius said with a smile, "well, while we are here, why don't we get something to eat!" Sirius said running back to his dorm.

"Not right now, I need some time to think," James said heading for the Head's common room, "Some times he can be the greatest friend, but others…he can be a real pain in my ass." James said walking into the Head's common room, which he found rather quickly.

He walked in to find he wasn't alone. On the couch was a red head staring straight at him.

"We need to talk," Lily said.

* * *

A/N: this chapter seems a bit weird to me. Oh, well, I needed some way for Lily and James to at least listen to each other. In other news I saw the third Harry Potter movie. It was good, except it left out a lot of stuff and the ending sucked! But it did have its good points too. Anyway PLEASE REIVEW. I promise I will try to have the next chapter out some times this week. 


	9. The Much Needed Talk

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

A/N: Sorry I am taking so much longer to update but I do have good reasons. Right now I just started posting some music lyrics I am writing on this other website. Since that stuff is just as important as me writing here, I have to give the two equal time. That means I will try to update twice every week, please don't get frustrated if I don't update for a while.

_"The only way to truly suppress anger is with love, and the bridge between them is forgiveness."_

_K. T. Sondej_

**Chapter 9: The Much Needed Talk**

_From last chapter:_

_He walked in to find he wasn't alone. On the couch was a red head staring straight at him._

_"We need to talk," Lily said._

James just looked at her and said, "I don't feel like talking right now."

"James," Lily said still looking at him from the couch, "All I want you to do is hear me out. You can hate me afterwards, but I don't care as long as you listen to what I have to say."

James gave in, "Fine, but make this quick, we have classes tomorrow."

James didn't know why he agreed to listen to her. May be it was based on what Sirius had said or may be Lily's sincere voice made his heart become a little bit softer.

"Now James, you have to listen to me when I talk. I don't want you to block me out or anything."

"Yes, I won't," James said a bit sarcastically.

"I'm serious James, if you aren't open-minded to what I have to say then what is the point in me spilling out everything?"

"Alright, but you better talk fast, I have a short attention span." James said with a small smile coming to his lips.

Lily could not help but smile a bit herself. It had been so long since she had seen him smile in her presence.

"I know I was wrong…"

"Ya think," James said.

"Stop interrupting, you're not making this any easier."

"Well if you hadn't had a little agreement with Snivellus then you wouldn't have to apologize," James half-yelled.

"I made one mistake James, I'm only human," Lily half-yelled back.

"How do I know you aren't planning something else with that slime ball?" James asked, "How can I trust you enough that you won't do it again?"

"Is this why you're so angry with me? Not because of the prank I did, but who I asked to do it?" Lily asked.

"That's part of it," James said.

"Then why else are you angry at me? Because all I know is that every day since that incident you have seemed to get angrier at me as every day goes by. What in hell am I doing that is pissing you off this much?" Lily yelled.

"I am not telling you Lily. Besides isn't this supposed to be your time to tell your secrets? And if you ever want that band to leave your wrist then I suggest you start talking," James said pointing to Lily's wrist. In response to that Lily grabbed her wrist and covered it with her hand.

"You make everything so difficult." Lily said.

"Just say what you were going to say before…before you started taking my head off."

"I won't comment on that statement because I realize that I am the mature one of the group. Now…shit I don't remember what I was going to say," Lily said rubbing her temples.

"You're wasting my time," James said looking at the clock in the room.

"What happened to the James that was here when the bet was going on?" Lily asked, her voice coming back to its usual tone.

"I've gotten rid of him, why?" James asked, his voice going back to normal as well.

"Why did you do that. You were so…different. It was a part of you I thought I would never see." Lily said.

"That part of me is weak. My enemies took me for granted during that week, some more than others," James said glaring at Lily.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't want to team up with Snape or any other enemy of yours or mine, but I was so afraid that you would win the bet that I just, panicked." Lily said

"Do you really hate me that much that you would spend time with Snape rather than me?" James asked, his voice lowering to his normal tone.

"I'm not sure anymore. Everything I thought I knew is now all mixed up," Lily said looking at her hands.

James didn't say anything in response, so Lily just continued.

"I don't care if we stay enemies the rest of our lives, but I just don't want to be the reason we hate each other." Lily said.

"I don't think your one prank on me made us hate each other. We are just two people who are destined to never get along. It's almost like something in our genes makes us cringe every time the other person walks into a room," James said, starting to sound serious about their situation.

"May be," Lily said, not knowing how to answer that comment.

"Lily," James said.

Inside Lily rejoiced, at least he wasn't calling her Evans, "Yea,"

"I'm sorry for asking you to go out with me for the past few years. I realize now how wrong we are for each other," James said.

Lily didn't know if he realized it or not, but he was now acting like the James that won him the bet. This made Lily smile a bit, she like this part of James a lot better then the arrogant part.

"Why do you say that?' Lily asked, not knowing what she had said before she said it.

"We are just too different people Lily. We live two different lives, together we never would have made it."

"I guess you're right on that, we are very different."

A few minutes of awkward silence filled the room.

Lily spoke up, "Does this mean you forgive me?"

"No, I am still mad at you for what you did," James said getting up from his seat.

"You are such a stubborn ass you know that," Lily said getting up as well.

"You shouldn't be talking, you're more stubborn then I will ever be," James half-yelled.

"I don't know why I even made that bet with you, I should have known you could never fully change," Lily half-yelled.

"Well, I feel the same way. We should have never made that bet," James half-yelled.

"Finally something we agree on," Lily said.

"Right, well at least I don't have to live with a black band around my wrist for the rest of my life," James said with a smirk.

"You mean there is no way to remove it?" Lily asked horrified.

" 'Course not, that's why I used it. Of course I didn't realize how stupid I was to even like someone like you." James said moving toward the exit.

"Well aren't I glad I never fell for you," Lily said, knowing that her statement wasn't true.

"I am glad too. Hell if a girl like you ever falls for me I would kill myself right then and there. I should have known that smart girls are never able to have a good time. They always think ahead, they never do anything spontaneous."

"You don't know me at all James. How can you judge me by the grades I get or how I am in school. Look at you, you're head boy, but you don't act like it. How do you know I am not some party girl outside of school, you never took the time to see me in that light."

"How can you say that," James said, "I have liked you since fifth year, I have seen what you do inside and out of school. You're no different then anyone else here."

"I hate you James Potter!" Lily yelled to James as the door to the hallway opened; Lily had tears forming in her eyes.

"Good, I hate you too," James said as stepped outside the room.

The door was about to close on him when he heard crying coming from the Head's common room. Being the stealthy marauder he was, he stuck his shoe in between the door and the wall in order to hear the words coming from Lily's mouth. He looked across the room and saw Lily leaning against a wall, she must have thought he was gone from earshot.

In the mist of her tears she said, "Why can't he listen to me. May be Kyra was right, a person like that is not worth my tears. But I can't help it I…"

That was all he heard before she started crying even harder.

James didn't know what to do. His head told him to leave and forget about her; she wasn't worth it. But his heart felt sorry for her. His heart wanted him to go down and hold her until her tears stopped. James felt utterly confused, his heart and head were battling and the winner seemed unknown at the moment.

But before James could decide what to do, Lily started heading for the exit; still crying.

James knew he had to think fast, so he quickly turned a corner that was out of the way on the route to the Gryffindor tower and waited her to pass. On his way back to dorm, after she was well out of earshot, James walked in wonder of what he should do.

* * *

A/N: I know a short chapter, the next one should be a bit longer. I should have a chapter up this weekend, but I have the carnival at my old school going on plus my friend wants to go to the mall, so I will try to get it up by Saturday, if not then probably Sunday or early Monday. PLEASE REVIEW!

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	10. Getting It Over With

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 10: Getting It Over With**

James woke up the next morning and saw that his eyes were almost as baggy as they were on the nights of the full moon. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night; he had a lot of things on his mind. His heart and head had kept him up all night; they wouldn't stop arguing over what he should do about Lily. Near the wee hours of the morning he had decided on what to do. He had to talk to Lily.

He made his move during breakfast.

"Hey Lily," James said sitting next to her at the Gryffindor table.

She faced him, her eyes looked tired too. But not just that, they were stained from crying; this made the pit of his stomach cringe.

"Hello," she said taking her eyes away from him.

"Can we talk?" he asked pointing outside of the Great Hall.

"Sure," Lily said, trying to sound like her normal-self.

When they got out of the Great Hall Lily and James just starred at each other for a bit, until James spoke up.

"Look I know what I did yesterday was wrong."

"Yea well, you weren't the only one. We both said things…" Lily said. She wanted to say 'we both said things we didn't mean,' but decided against it since he probably meant them.

"Well I want to make it up to you, for what I said," James said.

Lily just looked at him. James was feeling sorry for her, may be he didn't hate her as much as she thought.

"Don't get me wrong Lily, I still hate you as much as you hate me."

"Which is a lot," Lily said with a smirk. 'If only he hated me as much as I really hated him,' Lily thought.

"But, I figure we are just going to continue arguing until we get out differences behind us. Since we are the Head students, I would say we at least need to get along. So, let's go on that date." James said.

"I don't think a date is going to fix our problems," Lily said.

"I don't think so either, but it will get that black band off your wrist," James said with a smile.

Lily smiled, "I think I get what you are saying."

"I figured, we could go on this date so you could get rid of that black band. Then we could both forget about everything that happened. Sort of like starting the year over," James said.

"Works for me," Lily said.

"Great, meet me tonight, right before dinner, in the Head's common room," James said.

"Tonight, why so soon? Why don't we wait for the weekend?" Lily asked.

"I figured you would not want to wait that long. Do you want that band to stay on you for a few more days?" James asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"No, 'course not," Lily said quickly, realizing what she said.

"Then we will go tonight, get it over with so we can go on with our lives," James said. Lily could sense a bit of disappointment in his voice.

"Sure," Lily said. But because of the tone he used, she wondered…did he still like her?

"We better go back in, our friends will start to let their imagination wonder and they will start to think why we were out here for so long," James said with a smile.

"Yea," Lily said as the two walked into the Great Hall.

"What did you guys talk about out there?" Cora asked Lily as she sat down.

"Or did you guys even talk?" Kyra asked, with mischief in her voice.

"Is that all you think about?" Lily asked.

"Yup," Kyra said, taking some toast from Lily's plate

"Hey," Lily said while laughing at Kyra's last comment.

"So, what did you guys…do?" Cora said, being careful with her words.

"Just talked…but I won't be able to hang out with you guys tonight," Lily said.

"Why?" Kyra asked with a glimmer in her eyes.

"I'll tell you on the way to class, Professor Ventouse will kill us if we are late." Lily said getting up from her seat.

"He always has a boot up his ass about something when it comes to Gryffindors. If you ask me, he should never come out of that dungeon at all. He is just as dirty as the walls in them," Cora said.

"Cora!" Lily said, "You have been hanging around Kyra too much, you've never said anything bad about a teacher."

"I just said it for the first time. Just because someone doesn't say what they feel, doesn't mean it isn't there," Cora said.

"Nice one Cora, but back to business. What happened between you and James?" Kyra asked, not letting Lily go that easily.

"Nothing, we are just going on a date tonight," Lily said nonchalantly.

"You say that like it doesn't mean anything," Kyra said.

"It doesn't. We are just doing it so I can get this black thing off my wrist and we can get on with our lives," Lily said.

Cora looked around to make sure no one was listening to them, then she said, "You know, this is just going to make you like him even more. You are better off keeping that black band on your wrist."

"I won't let myself get hurt by him. I don't mean anything to him so I should stop caring about him," Lily said as the three walked into the room.

They didn't talk about anything else after they got in the classroom; they didn't want someone else to hear their conversation.

* * *

Later that night Lily was in her room putting on the clothes her friends has told her to wear. They weren't fancy, just jeans and a top, with a zip up sweater. An outfit that made her look 'hot' according to Kyra.

Lily walked down to find James already there, dressed in jeans and a black sweatshirt. Although the outfit was simple, the black went well with his dark hair.

"Ready?" James asked her, eyeing her.

"Yea," Lily said with a smile, he was checking her out.

The two walked a bit until they came to a statue, James said a word and the two went into a tunnel.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"Hogsmeade," James said.

"How…Oh geez if we get caught…" Lily said getting nervous.

"We won't, me and my friends do it all the time," he said with a smile.

"I always wondered how you got those butterbeers for Quidditch celebrations," Lily said.

"Here we are," James said, after he looked around the room they were about to enter.

The two made it out of the store and then appeared in the middle of Hogsmeade.

"Wow, how did you know about this…passage?" Lily asked as the two walked.

"Sirius and me found it in our third year, we were trying to hide from Ventouse," James said with a smile as if he were remembering the day it happened.

"I know better then to ask why he was looking for you," Lily said with a smile.

"You should. Anyway it's a long story. Want to get a butterbeer, you mentioning them before made me have a craving for one," James said.

"Sure," Lily said and the two walked toward the Three Broomsticks.

* * *

A/N: I hate the fact that I am ending this chapter here, but if I kept adding on to this chapter I would probably make the date shorter. I am going to do the whole date in the next chapter. Hope all you guys are happy, they are finally going out on a date, though it is a forced date. Anyway I found something yesterday. I was trying to get to sleep a few nights ago and I figured that if I read something it would help me get to sleep. So I started reading the fifth Harry Potter book again. As I read the first chapter I realized that the boy who Dudley beats up is named Mark Evans. Now I know that Evans is a popular name, but would J. K. Rowling give the same last name of one character to another without them being connected. Maybe this Mark Evans is a related to Harry thought his mother. This is just a thought…let me know what you guys think in your reviews…which reminds me…PLEASE REVIEW! 


	11. Friends

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"The deepest feelings of the heart are often left unspoken."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 11: Friends**

_From the last chapter:_

_"You should. Anyway it's a long story. Want to get a butterbeer, you mentioning them before made me have a craving for one," James said._

_"Sure," Lily said and the two walked toward the Three Broomsticks._

The two walked off and entered the Three Broomsticks and found a table quickly, as there weren't many people there.

"You're sure this is safe? You sure we aren't going to get caught?" Lily asked as the two sat down.

"Positive, just relax. If you are tense during this whole 'date' then we aren't going to fool the band," James said getting up to get their drinks. (a/n: not really sure how the place runs, so I am guessing since the books aren't quite clear to me.)

When he came back Lily handed him the money for her butterbeer.

"No, it's on me. Plus, if we were on a real date I would want to at least buy you a drink. If I wanted to be traditional of course," James said.

"Why does it matter how we act. Shouldn't just us being here in the first place make the band fade away?" Lily asked, taking a sip of her butterbeer.

"It matters. The spell that put the band on our wrists is an ancient spell, so it is a little different than more modern spells. Some ancient spells think for themselves which this one, I know from experience, does. If we don't have an action of a first date that is in mine and your minds, then the band won't go away until we do it the right way."

"So, we have to act it all out. Alright, I think I get this now," Lily said, trying to think in her mind her perfect date.

After Lily's words an awkward silence filled the space between them. Neither knew what to say next, they were afraid it might start a brawl with the other party. But if they didn't say anything, then the band might still be on Lily's wrist.

Then a women came up the their table. Lily panicked, what if this woman knew they were from Hogwarts? What if they got expelled?

"Well James, here with a girl this time. I see Sirius is no where in sight, pity," the women said with a half-smile.

"Nice to see you too Rosmerta." James said.

"I haven't seen you here with a girl since…wait a minute. I don't remember you ever being here with a girl. I only remember Sirius." Rosmerta said.

"That's because the only person you ever remember is Sirius," James said with a small laugh.

"Oh, shut up," Rosmerta said hitting James in the back of the head. "So who might you be dear?" the women asked Lily.

"Lily Evans, I'm guessing you're Rosmerta," Lily said shaking the women's hand.

"Evans, well I'll be," she said with a smirk and looked at James.

"Don't think anything about it Rose," James said giving her a serious look.

"Well, I will leave you two alone then. Say hello to Sirius for me," Rosmerta said leaving the two alone.

"She likes to talk with us. She says when we are all together we make even her bad days seem brighter. Especially Sirius, she is a softy for that one, the fact that he is the world's biggest flirt plays into it too."

Lily just laughed at his comment, she could picture Sirius doing that.

After that discussion, the two had another awkward silence come over them.

"So, how is Quidditch going so far?" Lily asked, trying to get a conversation going again.

"We had tryouts a few days ago for seeker and one beater position. The new recruits are all right, but they still need some practice…" James said still going on about Quidditich.

Lily didn't really care too much for the sport. To her, it was a game that ended up with people in the infirmary, they usually had injuries that were easy to fix but it was the fact of the matter.

So as James went on and on about Quidditch, he seemed like a girl when he talked about it because he just kept going, Lily just kept busy thinking about other things, like what they were going to do next. Lily tried to think about what she wanted to happen on her date with James Potter. Did the spell work on the way she felt this year or last year. For Lily last year even thinking of going out with James was too much for her, but now. She was scared about what she might have to do in order to please this band. That led to another question, what did James want to do?

James took his final sip of his butterbeer and said, "You want to go to Honeydukes?"

"Ok, but I was expecting you to say Zonko's," Lily said smiling.

"I would, but I just went there the other day with the guys." James said, "Plus I don't think you would have wanted to go there as much as Honeydukes."

"While we are there I need to get Cora a gift. Her birthday is two weeks away I don't know when I will be able to come here next." Lily said as they walked into the store.

"Why don't you just come back right before her birthday, this way it will be fresh. I'll even take you, if you are nice to me during the days beforehand," James said with a smile.

"Well, I'll buy her something now. I mean, I don't know if I could stand the stress of being here without permission again." Lily said.

"You aren't still nervous about getting caught are you. Geez, you have to get out more," James said, hitting his hand on his head.

"Thanks a lot," Lily said hitting James playfully on the arm.

"Well it's true," James said smiling.

"No it isn't! I just don't like sneaking around and going against the rules and stuff." Lily said.

"One of these days I am going to make you do something that will make you snap out of this good girl phase of your life, so you can start living life for the moment."

"If I am such a goody goody then why did I pull that prank on you on the first day of school?" Lily asked, as they walked into the store.

"Oh, one instance…you should go on the rebel list right now," James said pretending to write something in his hand.

"You're such a git you know that," Lily said.

"How about this for Cora?" James asked, holding up a chocolate frog.

"That is good, but it isn't enough. Maybe I could get her a few of those and then order something from the magazine I have at school," Lily said.

"Girls," James said shaking his head and walking away from her.

"Hey," Lily called back, grabbing some Chocolate frogs and walking in the direction he went in.

"You ready to go?" James asked when she found him.

"Yea, you getting anything?" Lily asked.

" 'Course," He said, grabbing some candy Lily had never heard of.

The two paid for their stuff and walked out.

"So, where to next?" James asked.

"I don't know, it's getting kind of late. Maybe we should head back now?" Lily asked, again worrying about getting caught.

"Lily, listen to me. We won't get caught, trust me on this," James said.

"Trust you…no way," Lily said.

"Have it your way, but you're worrying over nothing. Anyway let's go this way," James said walking to the left.

"James, the only thing that way is the Shrieking Shack," Lily said with a bit of fear in her voice.

"I know that, please don't tell me you are scared of that too?" James asked.

"I'm not scared, I just don't want to go near it," Lily said.

"You're scared, admit it," James said.

"Am not."

"Prove it!"

"Fine," Lily said leading the way up to the Shrieking Shack.

James just followed suit until they reached the bushes around the Shack, where Lily stopped.

"Chickening out Lily," James asked.

"No…" Lily said taking another step closer to the house.

James then pushed her closer to the house and Lily screamed. Lily then stepped back and started chasing after James, since he started running from her. As they ran into a forest area away from Hogsmeade, James heard a _crack _behind him. James knew it was the sound of someone apparating. James immediately went down on the ground and looked around, he hoped Lily would do the same. James then heard voices.

"Remember, we have to find him and bring him back alive," a deep male voice said.

"We know what we have to do," a female voice said.

"What about his companion?" another male voice asked.

"What ever any of us want, master only needs the boy. He wants to put an end to that lineage personally," the deep voice said.

Then the three people went quick and headed for Hogsmeade. When they were out of reach James traveled back to where Lily might be.

"Lily," James called, he kept his voice down in case the three were still listening.

"James," Lily said coming up behind him.

"Are you ok?" James asked with genuine concern.

"I'm alright, you?"

"Fine."

"Were those death eaters?" Lily asked.

"I think so, come on let's get out of here." James said.

"But if they are death eaters then they are attacking Hogsmeade. We have to help them," Lily said sounding like a true Gryffindor.

"I would agree with you, but we could be wrong" James said.

"Either way we have to go back to the town, through Honeydukes is the only way back," Lily said.

"There is another way, though you won't like it," James said as they walked cautiously out of the forest.

Lily was about to ask 'through what' when screams were heard coming from Hogsmeade.

"They are death eaters," Lily said, "James we have to help them."

"What can we do, we're just kids," James asked.

"I can't believe you said that. You James Potter don't want to step into a fight. Why not?" Lily asked.

James didn't know what to say. He couldn't say 'because I don't want anything happening to you,' so he made up something.

"If we go in there and something happens to us, what will happen to the school, your parents, our friends?" James asked trying to convince her to not go to the town. "Also, if we get back to the school we can alert Dumbledore and he can get aurors to come here and take care of them the proper way."

"There are only three of them though." Lily said.

"There are probably more coming from a different location."

"Alright, but how are we going to get back?" Lily asked.

"Through there," James said pointing to the Shrieking Shack.

"O-O-K, let's go," although Lily's voice was unsure of herself she led the way into the Shack. Lily knew that even though this place was haunted, that people's lives were at steak and that was more important then her being scared.

James found his way in front of her and they traveled the tunnel and went up out of the Whomping Willow. Lily probably would have asked how he knew the Whomping Willow led to Hogsmeade, but she was too worried about the people who were in trouble to ask stupid questions.

James and Lily were almost at the Headmaster's office when James pulled her into a corner.

"What are you doing James?" Lily whispered, since she knew it was past curfew.

James just put a finger to his lips. Lily then heard footsteps coming their way and voices.

"Is everyone alright in Hogsmeade?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, they will all live. There was an auror there and he alerted the others immediately," Dumbledore said.

"But why would they attack a town with only six death eaters? You-Know-Who knows he can't take Hogsmeade with six people."

"My only guess was that they were looking for someone because they only attacked when they were attacked."

"But who?"

"Come Minerva," Dumbledore said pointing to his office, "we still have more to discuss and I don't want anyone else to hear"

Then the two went into Dumbledore's office, but not before Dumbledore took a glance at Lily and James' direction.

"You think he knows we're here?" Lily asked.

"No idea, Dumbledore knows a lot of things," James said as the two walked to their common room.

They didn't know how they made it there without getting caught, but they soon found themselves on the couch in front of the fire.

"I guess we should go to bed, we have classes tomorrow," Lily said, getting up from the couch; James followed her.

"Yea," James said standing close to her, "Thank goodness those people are all right. See I told you not to worry,"

"Yes, you are right, again. But how did you know?"

"My parents are aurors, so I have a good idea of one when I see them. I know one was there when we were in the Three Broomsticks, so I felt that we would be more of a danger then a helper in the town."

"Why didn't you just tell me that when we were down there?"

"It just slipped my mind I guess," James said.

The two then departed to go up their respective staircases when Lily spoke up, "Is this band supposed to still be on my wrist?"

"It shouldn't…why?" James said walking over to Lily, by the base of her stairs.

"It's faint, but still there nonetheless," Lily said, as James took her wrist to look at it.

"We must have forgot to do something," James said dropping her hand.

Silence filled the room until James spoke again, "I think I have an idea what it might be."

"Do I want to know?"

"You will know soon enough, as long as you promise not to get mad," James said, a small blush coming to her face.

"I promise, just as long as this thing fades," Lily said as James moved closer to her. "I think I know what you're talking about now," Lily said just before James leaned in and kissed her.

At first Lily was a bit surprised, but then she found herself kissing him back. Lily brought up her arms and her hands found a place behind his neck.

At that James stopped and just starred at Lily. Both parties were utterly confused.

Lily spoke up, "After tonight I think it is going to be hard for us to completely hate each other."

"I think so too…friends," James said putting out his hand.

"Friends," Lily said taking his hand.

"Well, good night then," James said heading toward his staircase.

"Good night,"

* * *

A/N: Stubborn bastards…don't you think. I don't know if the kiss at the end fits, but I liked the ending. It isn't like they are going out, just confused. They are also, like I said before, STUBBORN BASTARDS! Anyway sorry I was slow about the Mark Evans thing. Sorry to all blondes, but I am a blonde and it takes me a while to fully understand or comprehend something…hehe. I think I may need a beta…that might make my story better, having someone else go over them too. If anyone is interested tell me either in a review (e-mail address needed) or e-mail me. If possible tell me why you think you would be a good beta. Since I don't know how many people will be up for it, I need to know why you want to. Anyway I got some a lot of reviews for the last chapter…w0w:looks shocked at the computer: PLEASE REVEW!

Kudos for everyone that reviewed:

PatchLover08: TATU…not really

PadfootandProngs91: Just to tell you, I thought your review was very…interesting. It made me laugh. I want everyone to know that Lily and James are now "magnets." She put it perfectly by saying that they were so alike that they are like magnets that are fighting their way to get together. I don't know exactly what it said but everyone should read it…the review is for chapter 9 I believe.

lilypad-7879: I e-mailed you about the stuff you asked me. Did you get it?

Reading Redhead

melody-dance

Secret sshhhh: yes, of course I saw it…hehe. But I had a few problems with it, which I won't get into detail here about. But if you want to see it, if you are bored, go here scroll about ½ way down and look at the entry labeled Harry Potter Movie

Ashton Rushing

Samantha

Nyneve713

snowbabyjoe

SiriusSweetie7

Lauren McKinley

BabyDancer798

Jo

Tanya J Potter

Lily Skylo: Another Sirius Lover! I love him too! I cried at the end of the fifth book, it just wasn't fair!

Ashley

Skye717

padfootedmoony

firefur1

Aloria Ellans

Lizzy Koneko

Gggi: sorry about the spelling the grammer. I do my best on my own, but I think I need a beta now that a lot more people are reading it.

Elvlenprincess9744

Annnyomus: sorry about Lily, but that is just the way I picture her acting; nothing against you or anything like that

SeCrEt LiLy

IdUnNoXx

Elvin-warrior-princess

Windowseat Wonderer

softballsweeti11


	12. Halloween

﻿ ﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own anything you don't recognize.

_"Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved."  
-Victor Hugo_

**Chapter 12: Halloween**

The days turned into weeks and before the students at Hogwarts knew it, Halloween was upon them.

Both Lily and James had not spoken to each other, unless it was absolutely necessary. The two found that being around each other seemed very different since their date; not uncomfortable, just different. It was something both of them had never felt before. Their friends also noticed their odd behavior. How one would go out of their way, just so neither would see the other. This may have seemed normal to the other students, who just thought they were fighting again, but their friends knew better. Angry vibes never passed between the two since their date. Their friends knew their hatred for each other was dying away, but they didn't know how far their friendly attitudes would bring them.

But today was Halloween and the seventh year girls of Gryffindor House were in their dorms, Lily included, getting ready to go down to the feast.

"Are you guys sure I should do it tonight?" Cora asked, sounding very nervous.

"I think you should, you only have had a crush on him since…I don't even know," Lily said, sitting next to Cora on her bed.

"What if he says no?" Cora asked.

"If he does, which he probably won't, he will be nice about it. Him and I have been friends since you guys pulled that prank on me in third year," Kyra said remembering that day.

Lily and Cora giggled a bit. That day they had made Kyra give off the vides of a guy, which caused the stairs to not allow her up to her dorm. Kyra spent the whole day in the Common room until Sirius showed her how to counter it.

"But I don't even thinks he knows I exist," Cora said.

"Then what better way for him to start noticing you, hmmm," Kyra said sitting next to Cora.

"I don't know guys," Cora said

"You're a nervous wreck. Just be calm about it." Lily said.

"Of course, I shouldn't forget that I am getting advice from two girls who never had a problem getting a guy to go out with them," Cora said, getting up and looking in the mirror at herself and sulking.

"That's not true!" Kyra and Lily said together.

"Prove it! Tell me, what guy has ever turned you down?" Cora asked facing the two.

The both stayed silent. They knew it was true, they never asked a guy out who they knew would say no.

"Told you," Cora said looking back at her mirror.

"He hasn't got a reason to say no," Kyra said.

"You're a beautiful, loving girl," Lily said, putting her hands on Cora's shoulder.

"Not like you two though, I see the way guys look at you. I may be look good in my own way, but next to you guys; I don't stand a chance. Maybe that's why I…" Cora said. She stopped talking there; she didn't want them to know.

"You're crazy, now are you ready or not?" Lily asked.

"Maybe that's why what Cora?" Kyra asked, she never missed a thing, "What are you hiding from us?"

"Nothing big, just something," Cora said

"Just tell us," Kyra asked.

"No," Cora said, although she knew Kyra would never stop bothering her until she found out. When she wanted to be, Kyra could be very determined.

"Cora, come on," Kyra said.

"I think we should leave her alone. Once Cora has all this stress off her she will tell us, right?" Lily asked, giving Cora a wink.

"Yea, 'course," Cora said, mouthing a 'thank you' to Lily when Kyra turned around to go to the door.

"Alright," Kyra said as she reached the door, "but mark my words, I will find out. Now let's go or we will be late."

* * *

"You going to ask her tonight?" Remus asked.

"I guess, I have been putting it off long enough," Sirius said.

"Good, at least one of us will have a girlfriend…" James said; however he was cut off.

"I don't even know if she will say yes," Sirius said.

"When has a girl said no to you?" Remus asked.

"I know my reputation, but this time it's different," Sirius said.

"You are nervous, anyone have a camera?" James asked half-laughing.

"At least you guys have had girlfriends," Peter said.

"You will find the girl for you one day Wormtail," James said.

"Yea right," Sirius whispered to James.

"You know I've never had a girlfriend before Wormtail," Remus said, looking sympathetic at Peter.

"You could if you wanted one though," Peter said.

"Yea Moony, just because you're a werewolf doesn't mean girls are going to hate you," Sirius said.

"I have my reasons for not dating," Remus said getting a bit angry.

"Calm down you two, no need to have a fight right before the feast," James said, stepping between the two.

"Speaking of the feast, we should head down there, or we will be late," Remus said, cooling down a bit.

The four them then made their way to the Great Hall.

* * *

"That food was great, the House Elves really did well this Halloween," Kyra said as the three left the Great Hall.

"Oh Merlin, the feast is over. Today is going by so fast don't you think?" Cora asked, she was nervous during the whole feast; she barely ate anything.

"You're just nervous," Lily said, patting her on the back.

"You'll be fine, me and Lily will watch for students who might be interrupting you, which leaves the way free and clear for you," Kyra said.

"You make this sound so easy," Cora said to Kyra.

"It is, what is the worst that could happen?" Kyra asked.

"He could say no, I could become a laughing stock between his friends, I could…"

Kyra interrupted her, "Alright, I get the point."

"Well, better get it over with, it's now or never," Kyra said.

When they reached the Gryffindor entrance Lily spoke, "Now remember, breathe and don't act nervous,"

Cora then started biting her nails.

"And stop biting your nails too," Lily said as they walked into a filled common room.

"It's a nervous habit," Cora said back.

"This could take a while," Kyra said as she saw all the students in the common room.

"Well, I guess I can't do it then," Cora said, taking a step toward the direction of the stairs.

"I don't think so, we are waiting," Kyra said pulling at Cora's sweater.

The hours seemed to last forever but soon the only ones left in the common room were the seventh year students.

Cora and her friends were just figuring out a way to get Sirius alone, when his friends traveled out of the common room.

"Well, that was easy," Kyra said.

"Right, Kyra you watch the entrance and I'll watch the girls staircase. I will try to be as hidden as possible." Lily said.

"Good luck girl," Kyra said with a smile.

At that, Cora was left alone. She stayed where she was for a few minutes and then, found all of her courage, and walked over to Sirius; who was sitting on the couch.

"Hey Sirius," Cora said.

"Hey, Cora," Sirius said, pausing before her name. Why he did, she didn't know, but he sounded really nervous.

"How come you're not out with you friends?" she asked.

"Waiting for someone," Sirius said looking at her.

"Oh, anyone I know?" Cora asked, trying to make conversation.

"Someone you know very well," Sirius said shifting in his seat.

Cora stayed quiet for a bit, she didn't know what to say next.

'Well here goes nothing,' Cora thought, "Sirius."

"Yea," he said looking at her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I admire you. You always stick up for what you believe in and…well…"

"Thanks, but I am sure you have a point in all this, just spit it out," Sirius said.

"I just wanted to say, that I like you. I have for a while now and I have just been too chicken to say so," Cora said looking at her feet.

"Oh," Sirius said, "Is that why you're here?"

"Yea," Cora said still looking at her feet, she couldn't look him in the eye.

"I see, well…um…I'm sorry but I am interested in someone else. You are probably a nice girl and everything, once you get to know you, but you just aren't my type," Sirius said.

Cora didn't answer him.

"Well then I have to go," Sirius said leaving the common room and heading outside.

Cora just sat there, she had no idea what to do. The first time she had ever told a guy how she felt, she was put down. Maybe Sirius was right, she wasn't his type. He liked girls who would prank with him and who weren't afraid to get into trouble and…

"Oh my," Cora said in a whisper, "Kyra."

That's who he meant by 'someone you know very well,' he was talking about Kyra. How could she be so blind? Kyra was perfect; she had great hair and smile. She had a perfect body shape and she was outgoing. She was exactly like Sirius. They both talked out in class and got detentions, sometimes together. Kyra was everything she wasn't. The worst part was, Kyra didn't have a clue.

Cora started to truly envy her friend at that moment. Both of her friends were perfect in her eyes, she was the flaw that had kept them from becoming everything they could be.

At that point Cora ran up to her room, grabbed her broom from under her bed, and ran back out. She ignored Lily the whole time. Cora didn't care if she was caught, she needed to get out of this place. She was about to leave the common room when she remembered something. Kyra and Sirius would be just outside this door and Cora really didn't want to see them. So she climbed back up the stairs and into her room, sulking.

"Good, you didn't go anywhere," Lily said as her friend traveled back in her room.

"Leave me alone," Cora said sitting on bed and closing her curtains.

"I heard what happened, I'm sorry," Lily said looking at the curtains.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Cora asked on the verge of tears.

"He isn't worth it anyway, you are so much better then him," Lily said trying to cheer up her friend.

"Sure, but he is good enough for Kyra," Cora said.

"What do you mean?"

Cora then opened her curtains, "Sirius likes Kyra, not me."

Lily sat next to her, "I'm sorry, I had no idea. I don't think Kyra knew either."

"I agree, but I just want to be alone Lily."

"Alright, but if you need me I am just a few steps away." Lily said giving her friend a hug before Cora shut the curtains around her bed..

Lily then walked out of the dorm, figuring that Cora needed some alone time. Lily walked down the stairs to find that Kyra was not in the common room. Deciding that it was best to tell Kyra that she didn't have to play look out anymore, she went outside to tell her to come back in.

"Kyra," Lily said.

"Lily, I have to talk to Cora."

"She knows about Sirius, about how he likes you."

"I never expected him too. When he came out here I expected him to be with Cora, but then he just asks me out after he told me what happened." Kyra said, almost in tears.

"What did you say?"

"I said no. I do like him though Lily. I never said anything because I knew Cora liked him too. I would have said yes, but then Cora would hate me for it."

Lily put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Cora will get over it, then you and Sirius will be able to go out, for real."

"Thanks, but I am still scared of sharing a dorm with Cora tonight," Kyra said.

"She has locked herself away behind the curtains of her bed, she won't be bothering by you. But me not being there will give you guys some alone time to talk this over, since I have decided to sleep in the head's common room tonight. Luckily we don't have classes tomorrow, so you can stay up as long as needed."

"Can't you come Lily, I need all the help I can get," Kyra said pleading with Lily.

"You have to fight your own battles Kyra."

"Fine, but at least wish me good luck."

"Good luck friend," Lily said, watching Kyra go into the common room.

Lily didn't know what to do. Her friends were bound to hate each other tomorrow and she would be forced to team up with one of them. Lily walked slowly to her common room and made a bed for her on the couch, for some reason a blanket and pillow were set up there, like someone knew she would be spending the night.

* * *

A/N: I know, not much about Lily and James relationship in this chapter, but this one is important in it's own way. I feel bad for Cora, she needs a hug. _:hugs__ Cora: _Anyway the next chapter should be up this week. But I am going camping next weekend, Friday to Sunday. I will try to have a chapter up Friday or Friday night, so as to get the chapter for the weekend up, but if not then Sunday night. Hope you like this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW…it motivates me to write faster!

Side Note: Just to let all of you know, this chapter is based on what happened to my friend and I, except he didn't like anyone. Yes, I was rejected in a way very similar to this, so I know what Cora is feeling. So even if it doesn't seem like she is very upset it is just because they don't want to show their weakness, at least that how it was with me.

Kudos for everyone that reviewed:

Windowseat Wonderer

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PatchLover08

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hp-paddy

mione-xavier

courtney


	13. Bits of Jealousy

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies."  
-Elizabeth Bowen_

**Chapter 13: Bits of Jealousy**

The next morning, in the Great Hall, Lily found herself choosing between her friends. Cora sat alone at one end of the table, while Kyra sat in the middle of the table next to Sirius and the rest of his friends. Lily walked over to Kyra first, seeing she might get a better answer from her than Cora.

"Kyra," Lily said.

"Hey Lily," Kyra said.

"What happened between you guys last night? Did you talk at all?" Lily asked.

"No, I couldn't bring myself up to even look at her," Kyra said, looking at her hands.

"Kyra, you have to talk to her," Lily said as the two separated from the group of boys.

"I know, but what am I supposed to say. 'Hi Cora, I have liked the same person you have for years and I want to go out with him.' Not going to work Lily. How do I explain to her that I am sorry that he didn't go out with her?" Kyra said putting her head on the table.

"Kyra, we have been friends since first year. Together, we know Cora better than anyone else here. She is not someone who will hold a grudge, at least not toward one of us."

"Lily, I really like Sirius and I do want to go out with him. But at the same time, I feel like I am betraying Cora. Which do I choose?"

"You will end up being miserable either way. The only way to get both is to talk to Cora." Lily said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"You think she will let me date him?" Kyra asked, looking into Lily's eyes.

"Probably, though it might take her a while get used to it."

"So, as long as she doesn't see Sirius and me all cozy together, she will be fine right?"

"I think so,"" Lily said grabbing some toast, "I think I should go talk to Cora now. So she doesn't think I hate her and all."

Lily then turned around to look where Cora had been sitting before, but she wasn't there.

"Where did she go?" Lily asked, mainly to herself.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kyra asked, taking a piece of toast; although she didn't eat it, she merely picked at it.

"I am going to go find her," Lily asked getting up, "If you need me I will be around, alright."

At that Lily left. She decided to check the library first, seeing that they had a lot of homework to do this weekend and maybe she was in there doing research.

Lily searched the library two times before she headed for the door, but a hand caught her arm before she could leave…it was James.

"James…hi," Lily said awkwardly.

"Hey."

"This isn't a good time, I am trying to find Cora," Lily said.

"There are a lot of places she could be, this castle is huge," James said with a bit of a smirk.

"I know, that is why I have to leave you," Lily said, but as she turned and left James caught her arm again.

"If you want to find her fast, you will need my help."

"You know where she is?" Lily said, her eyes getting wide.

"Not yet, but soon enough. Come with me," James said, leading the way out of the library.

As they were walking, to where Lily assumed to be the Gryffindor common room, they were mostly quiet. This interaction was the most they had had since their 'date.' The silence that filled the atmosphere around them was most uncomfortable.

"I heard about Cora, that was the real reason I wanted to talk to you," James said.

"Sirius told you?"

"Yea, he told all of us about it when we came back from going to the kitchens."

"What did he say about it?"

"Nothing really, just that Kyra wouldn't go out with him because of how Cora felt. He sounded pissed about it but…"

"But what?"

James didn't answer.

"Oh come on James, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell them."

"He didn't seem pissed. Although he may have acted like it, I think deep inside, he felt bad for Cora. Maybe all the pointers he gave me during the summer caused him to grow up a bit."

Lily laughed, "Yea sure, Sirius grow up. That will be the day that Gryffindors and Slytherins stop fighting."

James laughed a bit, "Yea, we all will eventually. With this war going on, probably sooner then we should."

"Let's not talk about what is going outside Hogwarts right now. We don't have to worry about it for a few months. The longer we can live without worrying the better. Besides that, I am glad that Sirius is at least feeling sorry for Cora. She always had a problem with guys."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She is the shy type, especially around guys. She knew she was aiming high by asking Sirius, but that is the only guys she ever really liked in her life. So after we coaxed her into asking him, she did. And well, you know what happened after that."

"Well, you can tell her, after we find her, that she is not the only seventeen year old who has never been in a relationship."

"Who else hasn't?" Lily asked as they walked into the Gryffindor common room.

"Remus," James said going up to the boys' dorm.

"Remus," Lily said in awe, she never would have expected that. But then again, he was quiet compared to James and Sirius.

James came down quickly and said, "she's on the fourth floor."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked, and the two walked out of the common room.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," James said, turning away from her and started heading in the opposite direction.

"Don't go," Lily said.

"What?" James asked, unsure of what she had meant by 'don't go.'

"Come with me to find Cora. She could use someone like you to make her laugh. Plus you can tell her all about Remus and everything." Lily said.

"Sure, ok." James said with a smile.

"Are you sure about Remus not having a girlfriend. I could have sworn last year he had a fling with Makco Libon."

"Makco Libon, no way. Those were just rumors that she spread to make herself more popular. I didn't think a lot of people believed her, but I can see I thought wrong."

"Really, well I guess all the Hufflepuffs were all in on it too, because they were the ones who talked about it so much."

"Yea, that is why they got dyed yellow and black for three days. For punishment for what they did to Remus."

"Well, they deserved it," Lily said.

"As I remember, you were the one who found the countercurse for our prank…it was supposed to last a week."

"Had I know the circumstances, I would have done differently."

"That proves my point."

"What point?"

"That you never looked at the reason for our pranking. More than half the pranks we pulled on people in this school were because of what they did to us. You always judged one side of the story, you were always blind to the other half."

Lily didn't say anything. She wasn't about to give into him, even though she knew he was right.

"Cora," Lily yelled, when she saw her friend, and started running to her.

"Hi Lily," Cora said as Lily hugged her.

"You feeling better?" James asked.

"James," Cora said, she was bit surprised that he was here.

"Startled you, did I?"

"Just a bit," Cora said, letting go of Lily.

"Why is he here? Are you guys together now?" Cora asked in a whisper, so only Lily could here.

"No, I asked him to come," Lily said in a whisper back.

"Why did you leave during breakfast, I was just going to talk to you?" Lily asked out loud.

"I saw you were talking with Kyra and I didn't want to bother you. And I wanted some time alone to think."

"Thinking is good, but if you do too much it will start to drive you crazy," James said.

"Why's that?" Cora asked.

"I had a friend who used to do that. It made him crazy at certain points in his life, until me and my friends convinced him to talk to us about it. Then, as time went on, he got better about the situation," James said.

"Does it still bother him?" Cora asked.

"It does, only because it happens all the time. This thing that happened to you is only temporary, you will get over it eventually," James said.

"Is this friend someone we know?" Lily asked, she was suspicious of who it was.

"No," James said, although Lily didn't believe him.

"Does he talk about it a lot?" Cora asked, looking into James' eyes.

"Not really, but he knows we are always there. We try to make him laugh about it, but what he goes through is hell and it's hard to make him happy when he knows it's coming." James said.

"Poor guy, but you and your friends are always there right?" Cora said.

"Right, just like Lily is for you," James said.

"Kyra is too, but…" Cora said, becoming lost for words.

"You see, this proves you still care for her. I think that if she does date Sirius, you will still be best friends with her. You guys are too close to let something like this ruin it," James said.

"Thanks James," Cora said, giving him a hug, "I think I will go and find Kyra. For some reason everything you have said to me has made me feel more confident in myself."

"Your welcome," James said, releasing Cora.

Cora then turned and hugged Lily. She whispered to her, "He is good for you. Get him before someone else does."

This caused Lily to blush a bit. Cora then released Lily and ran off.

"Why are you blushing?" James asked.

"No reason, but you are so…"

"I'm good, I know."

"I never expected that from you. You were so charming, considerate, and caring. You have really surprised me. Cora is full of confidence and I barely said a word." Lily said staring at James.

"Your welcome."

"How did you do it? I never pictured you as one to give good advice."

"All you have to do is put yourself in their state of mind. Sometimes it is hard, but other times it can be quite simple. Then tell them some story from yours or someone elses life, so as to get them moving."

Lily just stared at him in shock. She wanted to hug him so badly, but that would just make them feel awkward again. Plus, them all of a sudden getting along and talking was weird enough.

"Thanks James. For once in my life, I am glad you're here," Lily said moving close to him.

"Anytime Lily, anytime," James said looking into her eyes.

Lily then snapped back into reality, "Let's get going. We have a meeting with Dumbledore today and since none of us have a watch…"

James cut her off, "I do…shit, we have to be in his office in five minutes."

Without another word, the two ran off toward Dumbledore's office.

* * *

A/N: I won't be able to update until probably Tuesday, that day being the earliest. I am going camping this weekend, Friday-Sunday and I won't be able to write a chapter. I will try to get ideas so I can get a chapter up for at least Wednesday. I know Sirius was a bit mean in the last chapter, but he was just surprised. As all of you Sirius lovers (which I am proud to be one) now know, he is still the nice guy we all love.

Kudos for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, maybe I can break 100 with this chapter. But since I am saying that I will probably jinx myself…I will probably get like up to 99. Now that is what you call ironic. Anyway, shoot for 100 guys. That would make me so happy.

Silvercrystal77

PadfootandProngs91: Always good to see a review from you...they always make me smile :)

snowbabyjoe: I lived through the night lol

courtney

melody-dance: Thanks for your on going reviews!

Truth

Aloria Ellans

Windowseat Wonderer: you matter to me as a reviewer. I truly honor those readers who review every chapter. I makes me feel like I am needed, and it makes me smile :)

firefur1


	14. Letting Go

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"I want to try and live my life carrying all of my memories with me. And even if those memories are painful, even if they do nothing but hurt me…I want to keep them…even those memories I sometimes wish I could forget. As long as I carry them with me, as long as I keep holding on, then someday…someday I'll be strong enough that those memories don't hurt anymore and I'll be glad I have them."  
-Fruits Basket (an anime) _

**Chapter 14: Letting Go **

"Sorry we're late Professor, we were…" Lily said, but Dumbledore cut her off.

"It's alright," Dumbledore said, giving off the aura that he knew what they had been doing, "Now, for the reason I asked you two here."

Lily and James sat down, in the chairs in front of them so that the two were facing the old man.

"Since I have made the decision to stop Hogsmeade trips until further notice, I have realized that the older students are becoming restless. I fear that more trouble may start occurring in these walls then already exists," Dumbledore said, looking at James.

"Well Professor, you can't just end a privilege given to us and expect no retaliation," James said.

"But this privilege has been taken away for the students protection, surely you as well as the others know this James," Dumbledore said.

"I know, but…unless we are given something in return for losing this, we all feel like we are being punished," James said.

"That is why I asked you two here. I was thinking that this school should do something to compensate for the students losing their privilege to attend Hogsmeade."

"What did you have in mind Professor?" Lily asked.

"We haven't had one of these for over 250 years. (a/n: I think that is right, considering when the last triwizard tournament was) but I think it is time we have one. I have talked it over with the professors and we have all agreed that a ball is an appropriate compensation."

"A ball…when is it?" Lily asked.

"The night before the students leave for winter break. This way, students will still be able to go home for the holidays."

"I don't know about this," James said.

"What do you mean James?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well…Hogsmeade trips are always fun, but a ball. Especially with the younger students running around and causing mayhem."

"I think you and your friends cause enough problems, so you shouldn't be saying bad things about other kids," Lily said looking at James.

"In the mist of your statement, I do believe that James has a point. Only fourth years and up may attend, since the third years are not making as much of a fuss about the cancellation of the Hogsmeade trips."

"They are, they just aren't voicing it as much," James said, he clearly wasn't happy with having a ball.

Lily just glared at him. He was starting to act like his old self; in front of the Headmaster of all people.

"Well, I can see there is some resentment in here about the idea. James, is there anything you want to do instead of having a ball?"

James just stayed silent.

"Well…if you think of anything else then please tell me…" Dumbledore said, but James cut him off.

"We can have a ball," James said, shifting in his seat.

"Excellent. I will leave you in charge of informing the prefects. When I get more information, I will tell you at once. I will announce this at dinner this Friday. So I suggest you organize a meeting with the prefects before then," Dumbledore said.

"Is that it Professor?" Lily asked.

"Yes, you two may go," Dumbledore said, then the two got up and left the room.

Once they were out of his office Lily said, "Why did you have to be so rude to him about having a ball, personally I think it is a great idea."

"You don't know how many balls I have been to with my parents, trust me, they are as boring as hell," James said.

"Even if they are, did you have to be so rude to him?" Lily asked as they stopped walking, she looking into his eyes.

James just walked away, wanting to ignore the question.

"Don't you walk away from me, I am not done with you," Lily said, catching up and standing in front of him.

James just starred into space; he was trying to not look at her.

"Answer the question," Lily said, she took her hand and moved his chin to make him look at her.

"No, ok, no! Is that what you want to hear? You want me to admit I was wrong don't you?" James said, starting to yell.

"James you don't have to be so hostile about it. I just want to know what is pissing you off about a ball. What is so bad about it?"

"You wouldn't understand," James said, walking off again.

Lily caught up with him, "Try me."

"No…I can't tell you this."

"Why the hell not?"

"Lily, maybe one day if we become better friends I will tell you. But not today."

"James…"

"It is just some stupid thing that happened when I was six, no big deal. Just forget about it."

"Does Sirius know?"

"Yes, that's how him and I became friends."

"Please, tell me."

"Why do you want to know so bad anyway? It isn't like my life ever mattered to you." James said, he was starting to get defensive again.

"I want to help you. Whatever you aren't telling me is hurting you and I…"

"What about you?" James asked looking into her eyes, his voice calming down for the first time.

"I…I can't stand to see you hurt," Lily said.

"You're a complex one, you know that. I thought I had you figured out years ago, but you just keep on surprising me," James said with a smile.

Lily smiled weakly back.

"Come on," James said, "let's head back to the common room. See what our friends are up to."

* * *

"Kyra?" Cora asked, walking into her dorm.

"Hi Cora," Kyra said in a monotone voice, as she opened the curtain around her bed.

Cora sat next to Kyra and they both sat in silence for a few moments, until Kyra spoke up.

"I swear I had no idea Sirius was going to…you know."

"I know."

"You don't know how bad I feel about it. He is the only guy you ever really liked, and I took your glory," Kyra said.

"I'll get over it, eventually. But I want to know…do you like Sirius?"

"As much as you do."

"Why didn't you ever say so? For years I have been talking about Sirius and you never opened your mouth."

"I felt that every time you had or did something, it was out shinned by Lily or me. I figured I would let you have this special thing, you deserved it."

"I don't want a pity party Kyra, ever. I'll find my path someday."

"I just wanted to be a good friend," Kyra said, starting to cry.

"You are, but next time be a good friend to me and tell me what is on your mind."

"We were never really close, were we? It was always Lily and me, you always seemed like the third wheel to me. Did you ever feel like that?"

"Sometimes," Cora said, starting to cry. "Like when you and Lily would talk about all the guys you dated or how cute a guy was. I always felt in the dark, seeing I am almost seventeen and I have never been kissed yet. I felt so…young next to you guys."

"There's nothing I can do about guys Cora. But I promise, in the future I will try and keep those conversations short."

"I'm just a jealous prat, that's all. I always have and always will be."

"You're jealous…of us?"

"Who else have I got to be jealous of? You guys are perfect and guys fawn over you. How can I compete with that?"

Kyra then hugged Cora, "One day Cora, you will find a guy who will be perfect for you and he will see you in the same light. It may not happen tomorrow, but I swear to you, when it happens, you will know it."

"Kyra."

"Yea."

"Do you really care for Sirius?"

"Yes."

"Then go out with him. I won't care."

"You sure. I feel like I am going against our friendship in doing that."

"Our friendship was never that strong to begin with. Plus, I really care for Sirius too. And I know now that if I truly care for him, I would want him to be happy. And if he is with you, I know he will be happy."

"Cora…"

"Don't interrupt me. I can't say I won't be jealous, because I know I will be. I can't say I won't be heart broken, because I already am. But I can say that I will get over it. Time heals all wounds, as they say."

"Let's start our friendship over too. From now on, we should try to be closer friends. And if you ever need me, even if I am with Sirius, just come find me and I will be willing to talk," Kyra said, hugging Cora again.

"Thanks Kyra," Cora said hugging her back. When they released, Cora spoke again, "Just promise me you won't get mad if I get jealous of you."

"I promise," Kyra said with a smile. "But you know what we still have to do?"

"What?" Cora asked.

"Find a way to convince Lily and James that they are perfect for each other."

"Yea, they are both so stubborn that they won't admit their own feelings."

"Exactly, they are like two magnets trying to be put together. They have all different forces trying to make them not stick together, but still the force of fate is pushing them together." (A/N: they are like magnets, as PadfootandProngs91 put it)

Cora just laughed. Although inside she still hurt, and she knew she always would, because once you care for someone, there is no turning back. She knew it would always pain her to see her best friend in the guy she liked arms, but she would have to deal with it. For the sake of her friend and the guy she cared about. But maybe Kyra was right. Maybe, out in the world, there was her dream man.

Cora just shook away the thought. Perfect endings only happened in movies and books, but this was real life. If she wanted a happy ending, she would have to write her own. Life didn't end like a fairy tale, like the girls in all the muggle stories she used to read about as a young girl. Life was hard and rough, and only those who chose to keep moving in the harshest of times made it through. She wasn't going to give up on her life just because of on bump in the road. She was going to go one with her life, that's how her parents would want her to live and that is how she wanted to live.

* * *

A/N: I know…very little James and Lily action going on. More will come in the next few chapters, I promise. Sorry about the lame ball idea. I know it has been used so many times before, but I couldn't think of anything else. If any of you guys do please tell me! I would REALLY appreciate it. Anyway, bad news again. I am leaving Saturday and not coming back until either the next Friday or Saturday. I will be gone a whole week and I won't be able to get to a computer to update. I will try to get another chapter up before I leave, but just so you know I can't post for a week. The Monday or Tuesday I get back will be probably the next time I post. I will remind you guys of my absence in the next chapter, if I get it up (which it probably will). Got over 100 reviews for the last chapter…that makes me so happy! KEEP REVIEWING PLEASE!

Kudos for all those who reviewed last chapter!

PadfootandProngs9: Magnets...that was all you!

snowbabyjoe: I have survived...hehe

Windowseat Wonderer: Come back in one piece! But you can be surprised how perceptive a guy can be if he puts his mind to it. Don't forget he is still trying to impress Lily because no matter how much he changes, he will forever be trying to get Lily to like him back. Even now, if he wants to forget about her.

lilypad-7879: All I can say is that I am truly honored. You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you...that's all I can say...I am lost for words. I love your story by the way.

Silvercrystal77: thanks for the review

PatchLover08: Time will tell what happens in this story, just keep reading and you will find out. Also, you have been reviewing since the third chapter, thanks for the on going reviews

Aloria Ellans: thanks for the review

holly-evans: just because jealously is not spelling out, doesn't mean that it isn't there.

melody-dance: Thanks for your on going reviews, you have been on this story from the beginning

Ashton Rushing: thank you!

Truth: thanks for the review


	15. New Plans

﻿ 

Disclaimer; I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Tomorrow's life if too late.__ Live today."  
-Martial _

**Chapter 15: New Plans **

"Alright, I think that's it; you're dismissed," James said with a smile as he ended the prefect's meeting.

"I think that went well, most of the students seem happy that they are going to have a ball in place of the missing Hogsmeade days," Lily said.

"You could say that," James said, leaving the room with Lily.

"Alright James, spill, what are you planning?" Lily asked, as they made their way to the Head's common room.

"What do you mean?" James asked with a smile.

"Ever since Dumbledore told us about the ball, you have been walking around school with a sour face. But now, you are laughing and smiling, so you must be planning something," Lily said.

"You mean Kyra hasn't told you yet?"

"What hasn't she told me?" Lily asked.

"Me and my friends and planning on ditching this ball Dumbledore is having, and we are going to have a little fun on our own."

"You can't do that James," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"Why not?" James said.

"You are Head boy and Remus is a prefect, you both have to help set up for the ball and help Dumbledore and the other professors keep the students in line."

"Since when do we have to watch what the other students do during our free time. On Hogsmeade weekends, we never had to watch the students then, so why would a ball be any different?" James said.

Lily just stayed silent, he was right. They never had to patrol the students then, why should this be any different?

"Your silence proves I'm right," James said, as they walked into their common room.

"What does this have to do with Kyra?" Lily asked, sitting on the couch.

"We figured it would be more fun if we had some people to come along with us. So Sirius asked Kyra, after she said she would go out with him, and Kyra asked Cora. My guess is that they just forgot to ask you, figured you would hear it from me or something."

"So, you're asking…"

"If you want to come. Both of your friends are going, I don't think you want to go to a ball by yourself do you?" James asked, sitting in the chair adjacent from where Lily was.

"Where are we planning on going?" Lily asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," James said.

"I hate it when you say that. Why can't I know?"

"None of you girls know. You all will find out that day."

"Please don't tell me we are going to Hogsmeade, because if we are, I am not going. We almost got killed once James and I will not put myself into that situation again. And I don't want yo…" Lily said, stopping herself.

"You don't want what Lily?" James asked.

"I don't want my friends in danger," Lily said, covering up for what almost let slipped. She was going to say that she didn't want James to put himself in danger again, but she didn't have the courage to say so. Some Gryffindor she is.

"Maybe we will and maybe we won't, you will have to wait and see," James said, getting up and heading toward the door. Before he left, he turned to her and said, "So are you in?"

"I guess…although I don't think I really ever had a choice," Lily said.

"That was easier than I thought," James said, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, walking over to where he was.

"I thought it was going to be harder for me to convince you to go against the rules and do something crazy," James said.

"Really, then I guess you don't really know me, do you?" Lily said, in a smart-ass tone.

"Guess not, which is a good thing. I thought you were this little girl who never did anything wrong. But this year has surprised me. You associated with an enemy, snuck out of school to go to Hogsmeade, got your first detention, and pulled a prank on me…what is next for Lily Evans?"

"You never know, I may just do something completely stupid one day; so you better watch yourself," Lily said heading for the door.

"I'll be waiting," James said, leaving in the opposite direction Lily was heading in.

* * *

"How come you guys never told me what James and his friends were planning?" Lily asked, when she walked into the girls' dorm.

"I figured you knew about it, considering how much time you spend with James now," Kyra said.

"Most of that time together is because we are the Head students," Lily said, defensively.

"Yes, sure," Kyra said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't role your eyes at me," Lily said.

"Yes Miss Head Girl," Kyra said, sarcastically.

Lily just rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Any of you know what they are planning to do?" Lily asked.

"Nope, but I love surprises," Kyra said, with a smile.

"You always did, but you were also the best at finding them out too. And I know someone who would tell you right away, if he had the chance," Lily said.

"He is the hardest one to crack," Kyra said. She intentionally didn't say Sirius' name, she didn't want Cora getting upset.

"James would be easier to crack then Sirius," Cora said with a smile, "and I know someone who can get him to talk."

"Shut up. See, this is why I hate having these types of conversations," Lily said, sitting on Cora's bed.

"Get over it Lily. You already told us you liked him, and we don't forget easily," Kyra said, lying down on her bed.

"Yea, I remember," Lily said.

"I swear Lily, if you would only give him a chance, then you could go out with him," Kyra said.

"I know, but I don't know how he feels."

"Take a chance Lily, that's the only way you are going to find out," Kyra said.

The room was silent for a few minutes.

Kyra yawned, "I think I am going to go to sleep, see you guys in the morning." Kyra closed her curtains and spoke again, "Don't forget what I said Lily."

Lily just nodded and said, "I think I will make sure the common room is cleared before I head for bed. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first tomorrow, and we have to pay attention in that class."

Lily walked to the door, but surprisingly, Cora followed her.

Lily looked at her as if to ask, why are you following me.

"I just want to walk you to the door," Cora said, although Lily knew she had other intentions.

When they got down to the common room, they found it almost empty.

"Good night Cora, " Lily said, after all the kids had left, Cora came up to Lily.

"Before we go back up, can I say something?" Cora asked.

"I knew you were up to something," Lily said, a smile coming across her face.

"You always do. But, I just wanted to tell you, that you should feel lucky that someone cares for you that much. I don't care how much you deny it, James cares for you and you care for him. Anyone with eyes can tell, just from the way you two interact."

"What's your point?" Lily asked, in a calm way.

"You shouldn't let something, like what you and James have, go to waste. I don't know how long you guys would last, as a couple, but I am sure that those days…those days will be the happiest of your life. You won't find a guy who cares for you so much, every day."

"Cora, you tell me this all the time. Every time we're alone. I know everything you tell me already, so why do you keep saying it."

"I just want you to be happy. Plus, I don't think what I am saying is sinking in, 'cause you guys aren't together yet," Cora said, looking into Lily's eyes.

Lily then hugged Cora, "Sometimes, I think the way you talk is a bit too much like Remus."

"Every group has to have a thinker, it just happens to be me," Cora said, with a smile.

"I don't know how well you think of things, but you give awesome advice. Surprisingly, even when it comes to guys."

"Just because I never had a boyfriend, doesn't mean I don't know guys. Let's not forget I had four older brothers. Being a hopeless romantic, helps a bit too," Cora said, her smile staying on her face.

"Good night Cora," Lily said.

"Good night," Cora said as they went up the stairs into their dorm.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is short, but my brother is doing something to the computer so it was either this or nothing. I should have another chapter up by the 18th or 19th, so don't get scared when I don't update for a while. PLEASE REVIEW!

**IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ!** I WILL BE CHANGING MY USER NAME TO SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF BlackSnowFalls WITH SOME #...POSSIBLY 06, IF I AM ABLE TO. I WILL CHANGE IT WHEN I GET BACK FROM VACTION. I AM TELL YOU THIS JUST IN CASE YOU GET LOST WITH THE STORY OK! THANK YOU!

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	16. Complex Dueling

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"All men have in themselves that which is truly honorable. Only they do not think of it."  
-Mencius _

**Chapter 16: Complex Dueling **

Lily Evans woke up the next morning in a much-confused state. She hadn't slept well last night because she kept hearing Cora's voice in the back of her head.

_"You shouldn't let something, like what you and James have, go to waste. I don't know how long you guys would last, as a couple, but I am sure that those days…those days will be the happiest of your life. You won't find a guy who cares for you so much every day."_

Maybe it was worth taking that chance of rejection. Maybe he still cared for her, only he didn't show it in the same arrogant way he had been doing for years. Lily secretly hoped he did.

"This is weird," Lily said to herself, walking down to the Great Hall.

'I go from hating him beyond belief,' Lily thought, 'to liking him in a way I never imagined I would. How can some one go from the bottom of my list to the top in a matter of weeks?'

Lily had no idea what was going on. She hated James, and yet she liked him too. It seemed that instead of the lovers choosing each other, love was choosing them.

"Hey Lily," Kyra said, as Lily sat down at the table.

"You're late, we have to leave now if we want to get to class on time," Cora said.

"Let's go then, Professor Bideon will use any excuse to take points away from Gryffindor." Lily said, getting up and grabbing a piece of toast.

The three girls arrived just as the bell rang. Oddly enough, Bideon wasn't there and he was a professor to never be late.

After two minutes had passed, Cora started talking, "I wonder where he is?"

"Who cares," Kyra said, leaning back in her chair, "we have a double period today, so at least we have less time with him."

"True, but…" Lily never finished her sentence because a woman walked into the room. She walked swiftly up to the desk, her golden blonde hair flying behind her, and put her suitcase down.

"Sorry I'm late, one of your bloody ghosts started throwing rocks at me."

All the students stared at her. This woman wasn't a normal teacher here at Hogwarts, and she was talking to them as if they were her equals.

"Oh, where are my manners. You're professor…Professor Bideon will be out for the week; so, I am here to take his place. My name is Professor Median."

Murmurs followed what the professor said; most of which went along the lines of being happy Bideon was gone for a week.

"Silence class, silence. We have much to do and not enough time to do it in. I am only here for a week and I still have other schools to visit. I will be teaching you, all this week, complex dueling. Now, can anyone tell me what I mean by that?"

No one raised their hand.

"I didn't thing anyone would, but I figured I would ask nonetheless. Complex dueling is when a person uses combined spells to attack or defend themselves during a duel," Median said, she started circling the room. "I will try to teach you the basics of this art form and hopefully, I can find two or three students in this room who have the ability to master this ancient art. Yes heard me correctly, two or three. The ability to use complex dueling spells is not a talent that can be formed, only mastered. Certain people in this room won't be able to complete the simplest of spells in this class. Some will have success in the beginning and as we get most complex, they will start to stumble. And then those select few, those who were chosen at birth…they shall come with me at the end of the year to master their ability."

Lily then raised her hand.

"Yes, a question. State your name first."

"Lily Evans. Why are you teaching this, if only a few people can actually do it? Plus, complex dueling is considered a dead art…why teach it?"

"A good question, you must be a Gryffindor. Over my years at teaching here, those people are the ones that ask the boldest of questions. We teach this art for the same reason we teach Divination. Only true seers can tell the future, and seers are extremely rare. Sometimes, if a seer does not know the gift that they have, it goes unnoticed. This is why I teach this. If I can find one student who has this ability, then my weeks work has not been in vain. To answer your other question, complex dueling was never a dead art form. It is just similar to divination, most wizards and witches don't believe in it either. But just because you don't see something, doesn't mean it isn't there. Any other questions?"

No one raised their hand.

"Alright then, let's get started. The first and easiest complex dueling spell is 'expelaccioarmus,' which is a mix of expelliarmus and accio. When these two basic spells are combined it causes, without doubt, that the opponent's wand will fly into your hand. Sometimes expelliarmus works on it's own, if the person catches it, but not always."

Remus raised his hand.

"Go ahead, name first."

"Remus Lupin, if expelliarmus doesn't work the first time, don't you have enough time to get their wand before the other person?"

"That's what a lot of wizard's do but, if you can do it in one step…it makes it a lot easier. Now, everyone say it correctly, expelaccioarmus."

The class murmured the words a few times before they were told to split up into groups of two.

"Lily, Cora, let's all work together. There's an uneven number of people in this class, so there has to be one group of three."

So the three girls, Remus and Peter, and James and Sirius worked together trying to master this new type of dueling.

"This is a waste of time, no one in this class is getting it," Lily said, looking around the room.

Almost as if it was in response to what Lily had just said, James was sent flying across the room.

"Wonderful," Median said, clapping her hands together, "Who did that?"

"Me, Sirius Black," Sirius said, smiling.

"Very good, at least one person in this class has made some progress," Median said, smiling to Sirius.

"Don't let it get to your head," James said, pulling his wand from his friend's grip.

"Why shouldn't I?" Sirius asked, right before he was flung to the other side.

"Another, this class looks promising," Median said, circling around the groups. "Why do you have a group of three ladies?" she asked the girls.

"There is an odd amount of people in this class," Lily said.

"Well, you, with the dirty blonde hair, you can work with me."

"Ok," Cora said, being a little shy that the teacher had picked her to work with.

"Now, what's your name."

"Cora Tetherwood."

"Good, now, try to disarm me Cora."

Cora started mumbling the spell, but was stopped by another person banging into the wall.

"Good, three people," Median said.

"Expelaccioarmus," Cora mumbled, barely louder than a whisper.

"You know what you are doing wrong, you don't have any confidence in yourself. Say it confidently, ok."

Cora nodded and said, "Expelaccioarmus,"

At that moment Median was thrown across the room. Everyone looked around and stared at Cora.

"Nice going Cora!" Kyra yelled from the other side of the room.

But the joy in Kyra's voice was soon forgotten as the room was filled with a red dusty fog. Everyone in the room started coughing until the fog settled. When everyone could see, Cora was covered in red dots all over her skin and clothes. Professor Median was covered with gold dots that said, 'G. Rules' in the center.

Sirius and James were struggling to hold in their laughter, while other students were laughing full out.

The laughter stopped when Median got up and looked at the class, she had a look that could kill.

"Sit," Median said. "Who did this?"

No one moved.

"Fine, we will just have to do this the old fashion way, but first," Median then said a spell that caused the dots to be lifted from her's and Cora's skin and clothes.

"How did she do that?" Sirius whispered to James.

"I don't know," James said, looking amazed at what the new teacher had done.

"Silence!" Median yelled. She then said something in a language none of them could understand, but what ever it was, it made Cora let out a giggle.

The bell then rang, "You all may go," Median said.

Everyone got up, except the four boys responsible.

"You guys coming?" Kyra asked

"We can't get up," Sirius said.

"It seems I have found those guilty of the crime," Median said, "Girls you may leave."

The girls left without a fuss.

"What was the thing she said, I didn't understand it?" Kyra said.

"It was a French punishing spell. My mom's side of the family was from Belgium, so I know some of the French spells," Cora said.

"That's why you laughed," Kyra said.

"At least Median cleaned you up. James and his friends should apologize for what they did to you," Lily said.

"Why, it probably wasn't aimed towards me. Bideon always picks a Slytherin to work on spells with, so they were probably just looking to prank the Slytherins again," Cora said.

"But still," Lily said.

"Don't worry about it, and don't use this prank to use as an excuse not talk to James again," Cora said.

"Alright, fine," Lily said, as they three walked into the Great Hall. (a/n: I think that is right, having lunch after a double period in the morning…if I am wrong tell me)

"This is going to be a long week with Median around," Kyra said.

"At least there is a Quidditch match this weekend to look forward too," Lily said.

"I think I like Median, she is better than Bideon," Cora said.

"You have a point, but I still think she is going to start working us like dogs," Kyra said.

The girls nodded in agreement and started eating their lunch peacefully, until the boys showed up.

"What is Median making you guys do?" Kyra asked.

"Just one night of detention," James said proudly.

"One night, you're kidding?" Lily said.

"Nope, she was impressed by the prank we pulled. Said it took guts to pull it and a lot of mind power to set it off," Sirius said.

"But then she went on to say that it was bad to pull a prank on a teacher, so she gave us one day of detention," Remus said.

"You guys lucked out," Kyra said.

"We got lucky, but I really wish we got Bideon," Sirius said.

"There's always next time," James said, biting into his lunch.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter was late and it is short, but I got home late on Saturday. Then on Sunday and Monday I was tired. I was up with my cousins for a week and I got home and I was just lazy. Sorry there isn't a lot of interesting stuff in this chapter, but this chapter is necessary for a future chapter. I promise Lily and James are going to get together soon!

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	17. Secret Lives

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title."  
-Virginia Woolf _

**Chapter 17: Secret Lives**

Defense Against the Dark Art's classes were getting tougher by the day and by Friday most students couldn't wait for the weekend. But, as if it were put there to taunt the seventh year students, this class was the last one of the day on their Friday schedule.

"Figures, we would have the worse class as our last one," Kyra said.

"You always said that when we had Bideon teaching us, plus I think after today I am going to miss Median," Lily said.

"Just a little. She is just as tough as Bideon, but at least she doesn't take away house points from us as quickly," Kyra said.

The trio walked into the classroom and sat in their usual seats talking, until the bell rang.

"All right everyone. Today is going to be my last class teaching most of you," Median said, her eyes scanning the room, "I am still unsure of those who posses this ability, so today is going to be a hard spell."

Median turned to the board behind her and wrote down the spell, _impedi__ cognosprotego._

Median turned to face the students, "impedi cognosprotego, notice this is the first spell with a pause in it. This spell is used as a defensive reaction to your opponent's attack. It is a combination of two well-known spells, _impedimenta and protego, _but it also has a connecting charm…the scanning charm, _cognosco_"

The class then did the daily ritual of repeating the spell a few times and then split into groups of two.

"I realize I haven't done this the whole week, but I would like to assign partners," Median said, pulling out a clipboard.

A groan was heard from the students.

"Don't worry, I tried to pair you up with people you would get along with," Median said.

"What's the point, we only have one day left," Lily said.

"Who cares, she is wasting time and that's all that matters," Kyra said.

"Evans, Potter."

"Great," Lily said.

"You have fun," Kyra said with a wink, Cora just laughed.

"Black, Tetherwood."

Cora held her breath, why did she have to be with him?

"Don't worry about it," Kyra whispered, "Just act normal."

Cora nodded and walked toward Sirius.

"Walters, Sinnay."

'Of Course," Kyra thought, 'I get stuck with the dirty Slytherin.

Kyra walked to where her partner was and glared at him.

"Everyone, get in lines. Now, you may use any type of attacking charm you like, but not a very strong one; only ones that can be reversed easily. Understand?" Median said.

"Yes," the class mumbled.

"Good, now begin," Median said.

The class was going smoothly, if people getting jinxed with random curses could be called going smoothly. A sudden scream was then heard from a female voice on the opposite side of the room from the teacher…it was Kyra.

"Kyra," Cora, Lily, and Sirius said at the same time.

Kyra was on the floor in pain, while boils were popping up all over her face, arms, and who knew where else.

Median yelled over the confusion, "Twenty points from Slytherin for going against the rules of the exercise. You," Median said pointing toward Lily, she was obviously trying to remember her name, "…Evans…Lily, bring her to the hospital wing. Sinnay, you're my partner for the rest of class."

Sirius was furious as he watched his girlfriend being taken to the hospital wing. Sirius started mumbling to himself, probably about a prank he and his friends had to play on the Slytherins as payback for what they did.

"You okay?" Cora asked.

"I'm fine," Sirius snapped back.

"Why don't you try cursing me for a while…get your frustration out," Cora said, giving some room between the two. As she was moving she was blown backwards by a spell. She was flown backwards and hit the wall with a force that could only be made because his temper was flaring. As if the hit caused it, the bell rang as soon as Cora was on the ground.

"Padfoot, you really need to work on controlling your temper," James said.

"I am not in the mood Prongs!" Sirius said storming out of the classroom; James quickly followed behind him.

Cora got up off the ground and saw all the students filing out of the room, but not without giving her glances. Cora did her best to ignore them and went to her desk, collected her books, and ran off to the hospital wing to check on Kyra.

She found Lily halfway there.

"How's Kyra?"

"She's fine…she will be out tomorrow morning," Lily said.

"What was the spell she was hit with?" Cora asked.

"To tell the truth, I'm really not sure. Madam Pomfrey gave her some potion and told me she would be better by late tonight, but to make sure she is keeping her there until tomorrow morning," Lily said.

"Glad to here it," Cora said, smiling.

"Let's go to dinner, I have to tell James about something important," Lily said, as they rushed off to their dorm to put their books away, and then headed for the Great Hall.

"I'll be with you in a second Cora," Lily said, moving over to where James was sitting.

"James," Lily said, sitting next to him.

"What?" James asked.

"Dumbledore wants us to meet him tonight for a meeting concerning the ball," Lily said in a whisper, since the majority of the student body didn't know about the ball.

"Tonight," James said, looking over to his friends. "Do you think it could wait, we were planning to do something tonight."

"I know you guys want to get back at the Slytherins for what they did to Kyra, but I think Dumbledore matters a lot more than a prank. Of course they fully deserve it," Lily said.

"Lily, could you go and…"

"No James I will not cover for you!" Lily half-yelled.

"But Lily…"

"No," Lily said, sternly.

"Just go James…we will be fine without you for a little bit. We will just wait to do what we really want to do until later," Peter said.

"I don't know if Sirius can…"

"I can do it just fine James," Sirius said, his temper still with him.

Lily just looked at them, her face in a confused expression.

"I'll be there Lily," James said, in a disappointed voice.

"I'll meet you by Dumbledore's office a half hour after dinner," Lily said.

"Okay."

"Okay," Lily said, walking back to where Cora was sitting.

* * *

"I'm not going to come back after the meeting, I've got some stuff to straighten out with the ball and I may just spend the night in the other common room," Lily said. 

"Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow then," Cora said.

"See you," Lily said, turning and departing from the Great Hall, in the opposite direction Cora was going.

Lily walked to Dumbledore's office, finding James already there.

"Let's get this over with," James said, in a hurried voice as they said the password to get into his office.

* * *

Cora was having a nervous break down. Everything this year was going wrong for her. It seemed that everything that was bottled up inside her was exploding at this moment. Cora secretly wished Kyra was here, she would be able to calm her down. But Cora didn't have anyone to talk to and she was reaching her breaking point. Cora looked up at the clear sky; it was a full moon. It is said that on nights of the full moon, people seem to do crazier things then they normally would. It was probably true because what Cora was about to do would seem crazy to other people, but to her, at this moment, it seemed like the only thing she could do. She had been thinking about doing it for a while now, but until this moment, she had never gotten the confidence to do it or her friends would cal her name or do something to distract her when the moment came. But tonight, no one was here to stop her. She pulled out the steak knife she had stole from the Great Hall and slowly put it against her wrist. At this moment, uncontrollable tears began to fall down her face. She was about to put the knife down, when something inside her forced it against her skin. It stung at first, but after a few seconds, the blood oozing out of her cut made her feel a little better; though it didn't help cease her crying. With her cut still bleeding, she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"You could have been nicer to him," Lily said, as she and James left Dumbledore's office. 

"I'm in a rush," James said, looking at his watch and then out the window they were near.

Lily looked out the window too, but all she saw was the moon, "What is out there?"

"Nothing, I've got to go," James said running off.

"Where are you going? The Gryffindor Tower isn't that way," Lily said.

"Who said I was going there?" James asked, turning toward her.

"If you get caught up after hours it'll be double points because you're Head Boy," Lily said.

"Since when has that ever stopped me?" James said.

"James…" Lily called, as he turned to leave again.

"Is there a point in this little chat we are having?" James asked.

"Yes, I have to talk to Remus. He disappeared after lunch today, do you know where he is?"

"His aunt is sick," James said.

"Again, she was sick last month too."

"His family gets sick a lot…it's a genetic immune disorder," James said, putting his hand through his hair.

"You expect me to believe that rubbish. He looked sick this morning and if my memory is correct, he looked sick last month too," Lily half-yelled. Her voice then turned to concern, "Look…if something is wrong with Remus, just tell me. I am his friend, I think I should be entitled to know."

James just turned away from her and ran.

"You running away from me only feeds my theory!" Lily shouted to him.

Although Lily was tired, her thirst for knowledge about what was happening to her friend was more important. She wanted to make sure he wasn't still in school, so she traveled to the Hospital Wing. Although she had been there earlier, she didn't look to see if Remus was there.

"Hello, Madam Pomfrey," Lily said.

"You're friend is asleep, so you can't see her right now," Pomfrey said.

"I'm not here about Kyra, but…because of another friend."

"Who my dear?" she asked.

"Remus Lupin. He has been missing since lunch and I am worried sick about him."

"Well he isn't here," Pomfrey said.

"Well, if he does come here, since I know he looked sick this morning, can you tell him I came by," Lily said.

"Of course."

"Thank you," Lily said, leaving the Hospital Wing.

Lily thought about Remus all the way to her dorm. She knew he was sick, but not with a normal illness. When Lily looked back at all her memories of Remus, she could remember him looking sick and weak at least once a month.

"But what could it be?" Lily asked herself, as she walked into the head's common room.

She was determined to find out, so she took down her calendar and tried to remember when Remus had gotten sick last month. It was a Tuesday, since she remembered herself thinking how lucky he was to miss double potions. But other then that, she was completely stumped.

She circled today's date, and just stared at her calendar for the longest time. Then, she thought of something, Remus was sick the first week of October; that was the week she had her period. (sorry to weird some guys out by that, but hell…I think most girls remember when they had it, so it was a good thing to relate it too.) She circled that date too. She flipped back and forth, and back and forth. Then it hit her, how could she have been so stupid?

She dropped her calendar on the floor and held her hand to her face. The only way to explain what was wrong with Remus was to say…he was a werewolf.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if my timing is off for the full moon, but I just guessed and I don't feel like looking up anymore for this chapter. It took me forever to figure out how I was going to do the next complex dueling spell. I hope this chapter doesn't seem like it is rushing through the day, but it was a lot of information to get down in one chapter. And sorry it took so long to get this one up, but I didn't know what I was going to do for a while. But don't worry, I actually know what I am doing for the next chapter…Quidditch Match and other stuff of course. I will try to make the match good; I have never tried writing one before, so be kind with me about that. 

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	18. Promises

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"I tried to kill the pain  
But only brought more  
I lay dying  
And' I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal  
I'm dying, praying, bleeding, and screaming  
Am I too lost to be saved  
Am I too lost?"  
-Tourniquet: Evanescence _

**Chapter 18: Promises **

Cora woke up to find a bloodstain on her bed where her wrist had been. She picked up her wrist and starred at it. What had she become? To be depressed and jealous of the people around you was one thing, but to hurt yourself in order to feel better…that was completely different. She was now a statistic, a percent of the human population who does harm to themselves. She felt an urge to tell someone what she had done, but at the same time, didn't want to burden anyone with the problems she had to deal with herself.

After arguing with herself about telling someone or not, she promised herself that she would never tell a soul about what she had done. Cora didn't need another reason for people to make fun of her. She quickly did a spell, to take the blood out of the sheets on her bed, and went to the bathroom to wash off. She felt extremely dirty and thought a shower would help to drown her sorrows.

Cora hoped she would never have to cut herself again, she hoped this would be the end of it. But her hope was blinded by the truth of reality. She knew she would end up doing it again, because once you pass the line and do it once…it turns into the only escape from reality.

Cora shut off the water of the shower, dried herself, and got dressed. Today, Kyra was being released from the hospital wing and Lily and her were meeting for breakfast before going to get her. Alone time with Lily was something the two never really got because Kyra was the loud one of the group, kind of how Sirius was with his friends. Cora wanted to talk to Lily about so many things, things she only wanted her to know. How she was feeling about Kyra dating Sirius, and how she still wasn't over him. Cora headed for the door, but stopped when she looked at her wrist, she had to hide it some how. She looked around her room until she saw her watch, which she was thankful that it had a thick band. She put it on tight so it wouldn't move. The material up against her cut skin stung a bit, but she would get used to it.

Cora arrived at breakfast first a few minutes before they were going to meett. After fifteen minutes after the time they were supposed to meet, Cora became worried at where Lily could be. After another fifteen minutes, Cora started eating her breakfast as she wondered what her friend was doing to make her forget about her.

Lily was still in her dorm, pondering over the idea of Remus being a werewolf.

* * *

"Good, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey said, as Remus opened his eyes.

Remus sat up in the bed and looked around. There was only one other person in the room, but they were on the other side and Remus couldn't make out who it was.

"Drink this," Madam Pomfrey said, giving Remus a drink. It tasted horrible, but after years of drinking it, he was used to it. "You can go out at lunch time, but only if you promise to go to sleep early."

"Promise," Remus said, as he lay back down on the bed.

"Oh, one more thing Mr. Lupin," she said, coming close to him so that no one else would hear what she said. "A young girl came into here last night looking for you. She seemed extremely worried about you."

"Who?"

"Miss Evans. I know it is not my place to tell you who to tell about your monthly problem, but she is suspicious."

Remus lay there in shock, as Madam Pomfrey moved away from his bed. Maybe he should tell Lily, but he didn't want to lose their friendship over something he could not control. He knew he would never hurt her because he would never be near her on the full moon, but did she know that. Werewolves weren't the most trusted people, would she think that about him. With his mind still not made up, Remus fell asleep; his need for sleep took over his mind.

* * *

Lily ran to the Great Hall, hoping that Cora wouldn't be mad at her. Lily hadn't slept well that night, all she could think about was Remus. She wanted to talk to Remus about the secret he had kept hidden from her, she wanted to know if it was true. But Lily remembered that Cora was waiting for her down in the Great Hall, so they could have breakfast together and then go and see if Kyra could be released.

Lily was over forty-five minutes late and she wondered if Cora thought she forgot about her. No, probably not, Lily thought. Cora was always the one in the group smiling, even when Lily knew she was suffering seeing Kyra with Sirius, she always kept on a smile. Cora was one of the people who you could leave deserted at a hotel for hours and she would forgive you for being late before you apologized. Lily sometimes wished she could be more like Cora, in how she took control of her feelings.

How wrong Lily was to think that.

"Sorry I was…"

"Don't worry about it," Cora said, faking a smile.

"Look, why don't we just go and see if Kyra is all set to go?" Lily asked. Of course Lily's main reason for heading to the Hospital Wing was to see if Remus was there.

"Aren't you going to eat something first?" Cora asked, hoping the two could get some time alone.

Lily grabbed a piece of toast and said, "I'm not that hungry, so can we go?"

"Sure," Cora said, getting up out of her seat.

"Cora," Lily said, once they were out of the Great Hall.

"Yea."

"Have you noticed that Remus has been disappearing at certain times of the month?" Lily said. Although, she knew Remus being a werewolf was a secret for him, she wanted to make sure she wasn't jumping to conclusions. Plus, out of Cora and Kyra, Cora could be trusted with a secret.

"Not really, why?" Cora asked.

"It's nothing," Lily said, not looking into her eyes.

"You are such a bad liar. Just tell me, who am I going to tell?" Cora said.

"I am just worried about him. He has been disappearing and I just want to make sure that he's ok," Lily said.

"If you're that worried, you might as well just ask him," Cora said, pushing the door of the Hospital Wing open.

"I guess so," Lily said.

"Miss Evans and Miss Tetherwood, Miss Walters will be out in a minute," Madam Pomfrey said, leaving her desk and heading toward the patients.

"Look Lily, over there. Is that Remus?" Cora asked, pointing to one of the beds.

"I think so, but I can't be sure," Lily said.

"Why don't you ask James about it, he probably knows a lot more than me or Kyra would know," Cora said.

"I asked him last night, but he was in such a rush I didn't get any answers. Though he didn't seem like he wanted to give me any answers to begin with," Lily said, as Kyra came into view.

"Kyra," the two said together, as they went to hug her.

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked.

"I'm fine, been fine since last night," Kyra said. "Let's get out of here before Pomfrey comes back and makes me stay until dinner," she whispered.

The girls just laughed and headed for the door.

"Hey guys, can I meet you later? There is something I want to ask Pomfrey," Lily said.

"You want us to wait with you?" Kyra asked.

"No, you guys go. I will meet up with you later."

"Sure."

"Alright."

"You still here?" Madam Pomfrey said, coming out of her office.

"I was wondering, is Remus here?" Lily asked.

"He is, but he is sleeping right now. Come back around lunch time, he should be awake by then."

"Ok," Lily said as she headed for the door, but then stopped when Madam Pomfrey went into her office.

Lily snuck off to Remus' bed and pulled the curtain, so that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't see.

"What are you doing here?" Remus said, with as much force as he could, the disturbance of the three girls had woken him up.

"What are you?" Lily asked.

"What do you mean?" Remus said, sitting up in the bed.

"Your family can't get as sick as it does can it. You've been lying to me, and your friends, and everyone else about who you really are," Lily said, forcibly.

"Lily, please listen to me, you have no idea what you are talking about," Remus said, trying to get his full energy back as he was speaking to her.

"No, you have no idea. I spent a good part of my night up thinking about you and your problem. I was so worried about you," Lily said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Lily please calm down," Remus said, as he tried to grab her arm, but she pulled it away.

"Is it true?"

"What's true," Remus said, he was shaking.

"That you're a werewolf?" Lily asked, looking into his eyes.

Remus stared at her and then looked down at his hands, "I am," he whispered.

Lily broke into tears, sitting on the floor next to his bed. Remus got out of his bed and kneeled on the floor next to her. He didn't know if he should touch her or not, was she going to freak out on him like his mother did. Hoping for the best, he put a hand on her shoulder, it was then that she hugged him.

"Why Remus? Why do you have be a werewolf?" Lily asked, crying on his shoulder.

"It just happened," he said.

Lily released him and said, "Does it hurt?"

"You can't even imagine, but don't worry about it. I am a little used to it now."

Footsteps were heard.

"That's Pomfrey, you better go," Remus said, slowly getting up and going to his bed.

"I don't want to," Lily said, still in tears.

"I will see you later. Don't tell anyone."

"I won't, cross my heart," Lily said, remembering the muggle rhyme.

Lily didn't know how she got out of the Hospital Wing without Madam Pomfrey seeing her, but she was glad for it. Lily dried her tears as she traveled to the Gryffindor common room. She would be faithful to Remus, she wouldn't tell his secret; no matter what.

* * *

After Remus was released on Saturday, if the boys weren't with him, Lily would be right by his side. Which was exactly where she was when the Quidditch game the next day was about to start. Cora and Kyra were a bit suspicious of Lily's behavior, but being that they knew Lily liked James, they knew the two weren't dating. Apart from that, they had no idea what was going on. Only Cora knew it was probably something with Remus being sick. Cora made a mental note to watch Remus for odd behavior, because she would find out what was wrong eventually.

Cora smiled to herself; her father's curious side was taking over her.

"You don't have to be with me all the time, I really am ok," Remus whispered to Lily.

"I know," Lily said.

"I'm not going to collapse or anything."

"I'll get over it, be less up-in-your-face eventually," Lily said, looking up at him.

"Lily, I don't mean to tell you off, but it is getting a bit annoying," Remus said, his werewolf harshness was coming out.

"Sorry, I'll try to stop," Lily said.

"No, I should say I'm sorry for the last comment; harshness is another symptom."

"Then we both agree to be sorry, it works for me," Lily said, with a smile.

"You'll make a great mother one day. Might be a little over protective, but good nonetheless," Remus said, as the players were coming out onto the field.

* * *

"Nice catch for that snitch Sebastian," James said, as the team got dressed in the locker room.

"Thanks," the third year said.

Sebastian Alore was the newest member to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He joined chasers James Potter, Marlana Perry, and Katrina Mortella, beaters Sirius Black and Leonardo Revolut, and keeper Karl Electrie.

"We are going to have to celebrate in some way, once we get back to the common room," James said, as he looked at Sirius.

"I do agree, party in Gryffindor tower! Leo, can you tell Remus and Peter to get the food for it," Sirius asked.

"Sure," Leo said, leaving the locker room.

"Want to go get the butterbeers?" Sirius asked, once he made sure that Leo was gone.

"Definitely," James said.

* * *

A/N: I know I promised Quidditch but I rewrote the scene like five times and it never came out right. I'm so sorry. Also I will probably only be updating once a week because I have summer reading to do and all this crazy stuff is going on in my life right now…don't ask. Anyway, again I am sorry about not having a Quidditch scene, it makes me feel so bad. I told you guys I was going to have one, and I didn't. I was planning on having another scene, but seeing I can't do this one. However if anyone would like to help me do a Quidditch scene, whether it be for this chapter or the one in the future I would appreciate it. If you are interested you can say it in a review or e-mail me. You will be given credit for anything you help me with, of course. PLEASE REVIEW!

Kudos for everyone who reviewed!

melody-dance: I don't know what you mean by practice, but if you meant their meeting with Dumbledore, then I agree. I wasn't really happy with the last chapter, might rewrite it someday.

PadfootandProngs91: The only reason Sirius left was because, if you remember from the chapter 16, that people were hitting the walls and no one really thought about it. I wanted to get across in that chapter that it happens all the time. But I do agree that people should say your sorry, but this is also Sirius we are talking about.

sapphire039: she won't die, at least not yet...or will she. Thank you on the complex dueling...it sounds cool to me.

PhiloNysh: Thank you for your useful review, I could use more reviews like yours. Too much conversation is my thing, I hate it too. But I am working on it. I was told that once in the beginning, then I was good, and now I am going back to too much convo...your review is helping me remember again...Thank you!

Truth: I try to update as fast as I can, but sometimes writers block takes over.

firefur1: I know...shocking!

Starz: thanks...and thanks for reading my other story. I need to go through that one again...make it better. Maybe after this one is finished, of course that could take a while.


	19. The Chances We Take

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.  
I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky.  
I'll make a wish,  
Take a chance,  
Make a change,  
And breakaway. _

_Out of the darkness and into the sun.  
But I won't forget all the ones that I loved.  
I'll take a risk,  
Take a chance,  
Make a change,  
And breakaway."  
-Breakaway: Kelly Clarkson_

**Chapter 19: The Chances We Take **

Weeks were passing quickly at Hogwarts, and soon December had arrived; bringing the cold weather with it. No student could be seen outside without proper protection from the cold. Some students braved the cold weather, but most opted on entertaining themselves indoors. Not to say that there weren't things to do inside the castle, in fact, today, about two weeks before the ball, students were being measured for their dress robes. Since the ball was not planned and the students could not go out anywhere to find their robes, the stores came to them.

Being that the seven Gryffindors were not planning to attend the ball, the seven were all sitting in the common room, waiting for something exciting to happen. The three girls were sitting on the couch, Sirius was playing with James' old snitch while sitting on a chair, James was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch the girls were sitting on, Remus was sitting on the other chair, and Peter was sitting by Sirius, watching him play with the snitch.

"Want to go to the library?" Remus asked.

"No, not even in my state would I venture there," Sirius said.

"Becoming proper now Sirius?" Kyra asked.

"It just came out that way. Plus I can't help it if I am more intelligent than you all think I am," Sirius said, catching the snitch again.

"Sure," Kyra said, in a sarcastic way.

"Want to go play a prank?" Sirius asked.

"We're low on supplies, and I don't feel like going to get them," James said.

"Me neither," Sirius said, moving so that he was lying on his back across the chair.

"We could go out in the snow," Lily suggested.

"It's too cold," Sirius said.

"It's not that cold. You are being dramatic," Kyra said.

"Well, I am going to go out. I am sick of being in this castle all day long. Anyone want to come?" Lily asked,

"Me," Kyra said, who was soon followed by Sirius, Cora, and James.

Remus and Peter said they were both hungry and wanted a snack before they went outside, they promised to meet the crew later, but they never did.

When the five were ready for the outdoors, the girls walked together, ahead of the two guys. The guys headed for the lake, even though it was colder by that end and the girls sat by Lily's tree.

"You don't think they are planning anything, do you?" Lily asked.

"Knowing those two, probably," Kyra said, stifling a laugh.

"Kyra, I have been meaning to ask you," Lily said, catching a glimpse at Cora before she continued, "how is your relationship with Sirius going. Is he still acting like a prat around you with others?"

"He's fine, still a little immature though. But he will change, eventually." Kyra said, looking where the two boys were sitting.

"But, doesn't it bother you that he is immature and all. I don't know if I would be able to take it, you know." Lily said, moving her hands along the ground.

"Sometimes it bothers me too, but I," Kyra stopped. She looked at Cora; she didn't like discussing Sirius around her. Even though it wasn't her fault that Sirius didn't like her, she still felt guilty about it. "Maybe we can talk about this somewhere…"

"Just go on the with story. I have to get used to it eventually, and the sooner I am over him, the better," Cora said.

"Okay," Kyra said, hesitating a bit.

"Now, tell us the juicy details," Cora said, with a smile.

"You have been spending too much time with me Miss Tetherwood," Kyra said, laughing a bit.

"Continue with what you were saying, about his immaturity," Lily said.

"Right, he can be immature at times, but I," Kyra paused, took a glance a Cora, and then continued, "I care for him. And even though he makes me so mad sometimes, I can't stay mad at him. You guys get what I am saying,"

"Lily does," Cora said, laughing and hitting her softly.

"Shut up, no I don't," Lily said, blushing; her blushing made the girls start laughing again.

"You girls certainly do laugh a lot," James said, showing up behind Lily.

"We heard you laughing all the way by the lake. We came up here to see what was so funny," Sirius said, sitting next to Kyra.

"Nothing," all the girls said at once, which made them laugh even harder.

Sirius and James just rolled their eyes.

"Kyra, want to go for a walk?" Sirius asked.

Kyra took a quick look at her friends, and then nodded in agreement. After a few minutes of Kyra's absence, James spoke up.

"Lily, can I talk to you alone?"

"Umm…but Cora will be here all by herself," Lily said, trying to find an excuse to get out of it.

"I'm a big girl Lily, I can take care of myself. You go and have a good time," Cora said, with a wink,

Although Cora wanted Lily to go and spend some time with James, she didn't want to be left alone. She wanted a friend to be with her. But that was being selfish. Even if Lily didn't show it on the outside that she wanted to be with James, inside she would be crushed if she didn't go with him. Lily was one of those people who would be first in line to help others, and yet last to help herself. Sometimes, she needed a boost in that department. This time, Cora was her boost.

"Ok, but I won't be gone long Cora," Lily said, walking away with James.

The two walked in silence for a few minutes.

"So, you found out about Remus?"

"Yea. Wait, hold on, you know about Remus and him being a," Lily said, stumbling on the way.

"Of course we know, we're his best friends."

"How long have you known?"

"Since, about second year. 'Course we were very suspicious of him near the end of our first year," James said.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Snape, but you don't want to hear that story," James said.

He didn't want to remember that story, ever again. That day last year had almost caused the break up of the group. James and Sirius didn't talk for a week; the school was unusually quiet during that time. Sirius and Remus were not on speaking terms until two months later; their relationship hasn't been the same since. Peter was the only one of the group who was still talking to each of the members, at separate times of course.

Lily saw that she shouldn't pry into the subject, so she left it alone. Although she was curious, she didn't want James to talk about something that caused him pain. Funny, she would have loved to torture him with retelling the tale just a few months ago, but now, she felt differently towards him.

"I see," Lily said.

"You're probably wondering why I asked to talk to you," James said, facing her.

"A little, unless the whole Remus chat was the reason," Lily said, facing him.

"You see, I can't tell you where we are going the day of the ball, but I do have a question for you. Some of the time we will all spend together, but at a certain point, Kyra will go off with Sirius and I was wondering. Would you and I be able to spend some time alone there?"

"You mean like a date?" Lily said.

"No, I just want to hang out, just the two of us," James said, he starting to get nervous.

"It sure sounds like a date to me," Lily said, putting her hands on her hips. "Plus what is Cora going to do all by herself?"

James paused for moment before speaking, he was obviously doing some quick thinking, "Cora will be with Remus and Peter."

"She has never hung out with them before, how do you know they will get along?"

"This is Remus we are talking about, how hard is it to talk to him?" James asked.

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. James was right, Remus was easy to talk to and since the two were so alike, they would probably be good friends.

"So, you want to hang out with me? We haven't had time to ourselves for a long period of time since our Hogsmeade trip," James said, moving closer to Lily.

"Aren't we hanging out now, by ourselves, alone," Lily said, in a bit of a whisper.

"Without our friends, yes, but there are other people around," James said.

"I don't see anyone," Lily said, although she didn't take her eyes off James.

Lily was trying to keep herself calm because if he kissed her, she wouldn't be able to hold in her feelings. She wanted to hate him, she wished he didn't mean anything to her. But the more she wished they would go away, the more they engulfed her.

"Me neither," James said, moving closer to Lily and putting his hand on her cheek.

Lily could barely breathe now. He was so close to her, she yearned to be closer, but she kept telling herself to move away. Her feet weren't listening, or was there something inside her telling them to disobey her mind.

"James," Lily said, stepping away from him; his hand falling to his side.

"Sorry," James said, looking at his feet.

"We should go inside, dinner will be starting soon," Lily said, turning and leaving him as she headed for the castle.

He had over done it. James cursed himself as he watched her walking away. He had gotten caught up in the moment. She didn't even answer his question, which worried him. Would Lily be scared off because of the close encounter the two had just shared. He had to find out whether she would go or not, the suspense would kill him if he waited for tomorrow. He would ask her when she headed for bed, as long as they could have some alone time I the busy common room or meet her in the head's room.

* * *

At dinner, Cora began interrogating Lily.

"So, what did you two do alone?" she asked, with a smile.

Kyra was shocked by the question; she started choking on her food. When her coughing ceased, she spoke, "You guys were alone. When did this happen?"

"When you were off with Sirius," Cora said, turning toward Kyra, and then turning back to Lily.

"Oh," Kyra said. "Well, tell us what happened."

"Nothing, he just asked me to hang out with him when we all ditch the ball," Lily said, in a whisper.

"You should go, you told him yes right?" Kyra said, quickly.

"Yea," Cora said, "You said yes right?" But Cora's words were slower said then Kyra's, though no one took notice of it. Cora wanted Lily and James together just as much as Kyra, but she didn't want to be alone on a fun night,

"Are you sure I should go?" Lily asked.

"Of course," Cora said, deciding she didn't want to feel selfish just because she didn't have any other friends.

"Maybe," Lily said, as the girls finished dinner. Although she still didn't know what to do because her head and her heart were telling her two different things.

"Miss Tetherwood, after you finish your dinner I would like to see you in my office," Dumbledore said from behind her.

Cora just nodded in response to the Headmaster's sudden need for her presence.

After he left, Kyra spoke, "What was that about?"

"I don't know," Cora said, she had suddenly lost her appetite.

"I'm sure it's nothing bad," Lily said, putting a hand on Cora's wrist. Cora thanked God she was right handed and Lily was on her right side, or she might have felt something. Cora had long sleeves on, and in one move the scars could have become visible.

"I hope so," Cora said, moving her food around with her fork.

After dinner, the group went their separate ways; Kyra to the Gryffindor common room, Cora to the Headmaster's office, and Lily to the head's dorm.

Lily arrived at the dorm to find James waiting for her. She tensed up, she didn't have a response ready for him yet. But if he got as close as he did the last time, she knew which answer would come out of her mouth. As long as he kept his distance, she would stay in control.

"Hey James," Lily said, watching James walk over to her.

"You never answered my question before."

"What question?"

"Don't play stupid," James said, "You know what question I'm talking about."

"I'm not sure James, why don't you get back to me later," Lily said. She wanted to walk away at that moment, but her feet refused to move again.

"Why won't you do it Lily, what do you have to lose?" James asked, moving closer to her.

"I'm supposed to hate you James, not go off having rendezvous with you in the middle of the night," Lily said.

"No one but the seven of us will know," James said, he sounded like he was getting nervous.

"James I…" Lily said, but was cut off my James.

"Lily, all I am asking you is to take a chance on me."

Lily stared at him for a while. Her mind and heart kept arguing back and forth over what to do. "Ok, one night can't hurt."

Lily walked away after she said this, out of the room as she forgot her reason for going there, and walked back to her dorm.

Meanwhile James was smiling to himself. He had done it. He had successfully tricked her into going on a date with him. Not a formal date, but it was the closest thing he would be able to get. All James could think about that night was, 'I still go it.'

* * *

A/N: James is referring to him being a successful Marauder…that he still has the ability to trick his way into something. If you don't know what I mean, I will explain in the next chapter. Don't ask me where this chapter came from so quickly…because I am not really sure. PLEASE REVIEW!

Kudos for everyone that reviewed!

La-Lune: Lily followed him becasue she was being protective. She felt he would be weaker because of his condition. That is why Remusa said she would be a good mother...she was protective

melody-dance: I don't know why either...it just came out that way...

firefur1: they would

Whitepaw: she won't die...at least not yet...:smiles evilly:

PadfootandProngs91: don't worry..no L/R here...just a friendship...I was going to put ur idea...but it didn't fit right with my story...I tried..I hope you like this chapter though.

Truth: you never get writers block...lucky you. But watch..you have just jinxed yourself...so watch out!

Stereotypical Kitty: I have found a chapter, somewhere in my brain at this time...you luck out :)

yugi4ever: thanks for the favorite

Windowseat Wonderer: glad you like the Lily/Cora thing...it makes me happy

PhiloNysh: I don't think your last review was harsh...it helped me. Your reviews give insight to how others see my story. With more reviews like yours, I know my writing and this story will get better. I am trying to right real things that happen in people's lives. I was just sick of so many stories having perfect endings and perfect characters with almost perfect lives, it seems almost unreal. I am glad that you like it.


	20. Being Different

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation for our own uniqueness and self worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has."  
-Elizabeth O'Connor_

_  
_**Chapter 20: Being Different**

Rain slammed down on Hogwarts the next day, which spoiled the joyful mood of many whom still had thoughts of the ball on their mind. Even though some spirits were dampened, students kept going up to people asking if they would go to the ball with them and even though the seven Gryffindors were not planning to attend, they received their share of invitations. Lily was asked twice, James thrice, Remus once, Peter once, and even Sirius and Kyra were asked by others at least once. It seemed people didn't want to believe that the two of them were dating.

This ritual of asking to go to social events with others, made Cora feel even worse. She looked at her left wrist; five scars lay on it. One was still fresh from the night before. Not only had Dumbledore told her something that would change her life, but also the normal stresses of being a teenage girl had caused her to break. She felt lost, alone in a world that was holding the stirring wheel of her life. She knew her friends were still there for her, but what would they say if they found out. She didn't want to know. So, getting up out of bed she traveled down to the Great Hall, although she wasn't planning on eating anything.

She found Kyra and Lily at the table; Lily's face was an unhappy one.

"What happened?" Cora asked, as she sat down at the table.

At the question Lily pushed her plate away and put her head down.

"Don't mind her, she's just in denial," Kyra said, with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Cora asked.

"Our little Lily has excepted a date from Mr. Potter," Kyra said, the smile on her face getting wider.

"No," Cora said, in disbelief; it was the only emotion she could feel at the moment.

"It's not a date, just sometime to hang out," Lily said.

"Hang out alone, which qualifies as a date to me and you, right Cora?" Kyra said, turning to Cora.

"I'll say," Cora said.

"Yeah, well, whatever this private time is, I wish I didn't have to go," Lily said, her head still on the table.

"You know you want this, so don't even try to get out of it," Kyra said.

"How do you know I want this?" Lily asked, her head coming off the table.

"Don't even start with me Lily. You are only causing more drama in your life, so stop being such a drama queen," Kyra said.

"I am not a drama queen!" Lily said.

"Then stop acting like one!" Kyra said.

While the two kept arguing, Cora began to think. Was she, Cora, a drama queen? Was she over reacting to the little things happening in her life? She knew she wasn't a vocal drama queen, she kept to herself. But did she over react?

"Cora!" Kyra yelled.

"What?" she said, coming out of her thoughts. It seemed that the two had stopped arguing.

"We asked you a question, what happened with Dumbledore last night?" Kyra asked.

"Yeah, why did he call you in?" Lily joined in; she seemed to be happy the focus wasn't on her at the moment.

Cora remembered last night, but she didn't want to talk about it.

_"Come in Miss Tetherwood," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the chair opposite him._

_Cora sat down. Her palms were sweating, she was extremely nervous. What if something happened to her brother, he was the only person she had left besides her friends. Or, what if he knew she was hurting herself. She expected a friend to give her the "you shouldn't hurt yourself" speech, not a teacher. _

_"I will make this brief, since I know you have class tomorrow morning," Dumbledore said, his eyes studying Cora as if she were a book. "I received this yesterday morning," he said, holding up a black letter. The black letter was similar to those given to people to tell of a death by the dark side. _

_Cora panicked at the sight. The only family she had left was her brother and if she lost him, it would mean, after her two friends, that she had no one else in the world. Being alone meant that when her friends were off in their own homes, married, she would have to live alone. She feared living alone._

_"No need to panic my dear," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling. "This letter does not bring bad tidings, but news that could change the wizarding world as we know it."_

_"Then why am I here? If this concerns the whole wizarding world, why aren't the professors or the head students here?" Cora asked._

_"This secret surrounds you, and only you. Of course you may tell who you wish, but be careful whom you tell. If this information got into the wrong hands, it could lead to disaster," Dumbledore said, his voice stern with importance._

_Cora just looked at him, not knowing what to think or say._

_"You remember Professor Median, the teacher who taught complex dueling?"_

_Cora nodded her head, she was trying to figure out what all this meant._

_"She should have said in class that only a few people could perfect the art of complex dueling. This letter here, tells me that she found that one student in our seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts class has this ability. I thought it would be best to tell you in person that you are that one student," Dumbledore said, as he smiled at the girl._

_Cora's eyes widened at the news. There had to be some mistake, there were other students, like Sirius, who were able to do all of the spells. However she was only able to do three. Sure that was more then a lot of kids, but…it didn't make any sense. _

_"There must be some mistake, other students were able to do much more then me. She must have put the wrong name down," Cora said, acting very nervous._

_"I assure you, there was no mistake," Dumbldore said, handing the letter to her._

_Cora took the letter from his hand, but did not open it. This was a prank, some stupid prank that James and Sirius had got Dumbldore in on. This letter probably would tell her it was a big joke. Well, she was going to get the last laugh. She decided to question Dumbledore until he popped._

_"Let's say this letter does concern me, what does it matter if I can do complex dueling. We don't learn that kind of magic here."_

_"You have to attend a special school for two years, after Hogwarts of course. All the details are in that letter," he said, motioning toward the letter._

_He was quicker than she thought._

_"Where is this school?" Cora asked._

_"In France, again that piece of information is found in the letter. The letter also says you have to contact them to verify that you are attending next September."_

_"Does anyone else from this school attend?"_

_Dumbledore's__ eyes watched her for a few moments and then he spoke again. This time it was in a more amused tone, "I can assure you that this is not a prank."_

_Cora's mouth dropped. How did he know what she was thinking? She knew he was a powerful wizard, but she didn't know he could read minds. Cora stiffened, if he could read minds, did that mean he knew about the scars. No, he couldn't know about that…could he? Was it possible? Cora gave herself a mental note to check the library on that the next time she got the chance. If he could read minds, it meant she would have to stay as far away from him as possible until she stopped what she was doing._

_"I know this news is sudden, but the ability can only be found after years of normal wizard training. If you have any questions you can ask me or write to the school yourself, talk to others who have graduated from there or currently attend. Though if you read that letter, many of you questions will be answered, I believe."_

_Cora got up from her seat, but before she reached the door, Dumbledore called her back, "Tell Professor Bideon to come in, he has been waiting by the door for quite a while." _

_Cora nodded and left the room. She found Bideon outside of the Headmaster's room. _

_"He says you can go in now," Cora said, not looking him in the eyes._

_"Thank you for the message," Bideon said, with a smile heading into the Headmaster's office. This freaked her out a bit, but it was soon forgotten when she remembered what the conversation had been about between her and Dumbledore. She didn't know what to believe. Was this some elaborate hoax? Or was this real? She didn't open the letter when she got to her dorm, she was afraid it might make true her worst fears, that this was the truth._

"It was nothing, I left my book in a room," Cora said, coming out of her thoughts; she also wasn't sure if she should tell them about it.

"He called you up to his office to return a book, that's a bit odd," Kyra said, she obviously didn't believe Cora's story.

Lily just shrugged her shoulders, unsure of what to think.

"But that reminds me, I forgot a book in my room. I better go get it or Flitwick will be furious. I'll talk to you guys later!" she yelled, leaving Lily and Kyra bewildered.

"Think she made it obvious enough that she is hiding something," Kyra said, when Cora was not longer in sight. "She has all her books, anyone with half a brain could see that."

"But what would she have to hide from us?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," Kyra said.

Lily then began to search her mind for instances when Cora was acting weird. She only remembered times when she was smiling at them. She didn't appear to be hiding anything, but with Dumbledore calling her in his office, something was definitely going on.

"She hasn't been acting odd around you in the dorm, has she, when I'm not there?" Lily asked, trying to put some sense into the story.

"Not really, except that she really doesn't want to talk a lot at night, but you know about that all ready. Other then that, everything is the same," Kyra said, who was also trying to figure out what was wrong with Cora.

"But that could have something to do with you dating Sirius; nothing abnormal," Lily said, putting her hand to her chin.

The girls sat in silence for a bit, both searching their minds for moments when Cora was acting sad or abnormally. Neither could think of anything.

"We will just have to watch her carefully from now. We are also going to have to pay special attention to her at night, because she probably has a reason for not talking to us then."

"You don't think it is anything serious, do you Lily?" Kyra asked, her voice being deadly calm.

"Probably not. Cora isn't one to do anything rash. I'm sure it's something a few nights of talking will fix," Lily said, truthfully.

"You're right. Cora always thought things through before doing something or reacting in a certain way," Kyra said, in a way that made it sound like she was trying to convince herself it was the truth.

Both girls knew Cora was the thinker of the group, but still they felt that something bad was happening to their friend. Good news was never kept a secret. Cora was hiding something, but neither of the two knew how bad it really was, or how bad it was going to get.

* * *

That night a secret meeting was held, in a secret location. The death eaters were restless, especially the new ones. They wanted to feel important, but only those who had been the Dark Lord's followers for a long period of time were given the most important assignments. But tonight all this was going to change. He could not use his most trusted death eaters, so he was forced to use those newly admitted into the group.

"Where is he?" a male voice said.

"Keep quiet, he will know we are talking about him," another voice said.

"Of course I would," the Dark Lord said, "You surprise me Snape, you are usually the quiet one of the group."

"I am sorry my Lord," Snape said, bowing to the Dark Lord.

"That comment you muttered has caused me to rethink how loyal you are to me," Voldemort said, raising his wand toward Snape, "_Crucio_

Snape immediately began twitching madly and screaming in a deathly manner. The Dark Lord released him of the curse after a while, "Anyone else have a comment?" he yelled.

Everyone fell silent.

"Good. Now I don't think a bunch of low lives like yourself should handle an assignment like this, but you are the only ones who can. I have been informed by one of my most trusted followers that a rare gift has been discovered at Hogwarts. You now see why I need to use you instead of the others," Voldemort said, a smile forming on his face.

The group grew excited; this was their first real assignment as death eaters.

"This is your chance to prove your worth in my numbers, don't disappoint me." He said, with venom in his voice that could have matched a snake. "A girl has been discovered at Hogwarts, a Gryffindor," he said the word Gryffindor as if it were scum. "She excels in a certain art form thought to be extinct. I do not want you to harm her, badly, just enough to make her join our side."

The murmurs of 'yes Master,' and other things of that nature filled the air.

"Tetherwood, you know her well." The Dark Lord said, to one of them in particular, "I want you to watch her, find out what her weaknesses are; most importantly, who matters the most to her. If she denies our proposal, we will have to attack the most destructive part of the body; the people in her heart. Stupid children, still holding on to love, best to harden your heart early, while you still can," he said, a horrid laugh leaving his lips.

The death eaters left after the Dark Lord had dismissed them. They all were excited to do the assignment, except one.

This death eater was different then the others. He wanted one thing, and one thing only; a girl. This girl was someone he had dreamed about since he saw her on the train in his first year. That was why he had joined this side. The Dark Lord promised him her, if he joined his army. Being the weakling he was, he agreed. But now he was unsure. He didn't want to hurt one of her friends. He started wondering, did he do the right thing?

* * *

A/N: Sorry I didn't update earlier but things have been really crazy. I am going into surgery tomorrow and because of that I wanted to go out with my friends before it happened. It isn't major surgery, but I will have a swollen and/or black eye for a while. Anyway this chapter is really just a filler to get more in touch with the other characters. I think that there is also too much dialogue in this chapter, but I did the best I could. Next chapter is going to be the ball one, or rather the ditching ball one. Lots of Lily and James in that chapter _smiles evilly!_ PLEASE REVIEW!

Kudos for all those who reviewed! You guys ROCK!

cilverblood

PadfootandProngs91

IdUnNoXx

Windowseat Wonderer

Ashton Rushing

Truth: mmm...candy!

melody-dance

Whitepaw

mgirl: I have no idea how many chapters are left. It just write as they come out of me, but it will be a lot longer than it is now, I can tell you that

PhiloNysh: glad to hear it is getting better, you;re reviews are always most honest, I love that!

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holly-evans: you never can tell when James is going to do something incradibly stupid!

mione-xavier


	21. The Cold Hard Truth

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Your heart understands what your head cannot yet conceive; trust your heart."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 21: The Cold Hard Truth**

Cora walked down to breakfast alone, on the day of the school ball. Kyra would have been with her, but Sirius had taken her to the kitchens to have breakfast alone. She didn't care about them dating anymore, at least, not as much. After the almost two months of the two dating, she had started getting over him. It wasn't something she was going to get over quickly, but over time it was going to heal. She was getting stronger everyday, at least in the Sirius issue.

Today as she walked down the halls, she heard footsteps walking behind her. She looked back to see who it was, but turned to find no one. Cora just shook her head; she was starting to imagine things, which was not a good sign of her current sanity. When she started walking again, the footsteps returned. Cora turned, and again saw no one. She stood there trying to think of a reason for someone following her. Maybe it was Kyra or Lily trying to scare her…yeah, that was probably it. But when Cora's eyes and mouth were covered and she felt herself being pulled somewhere, she knew it was something serious.

When her eyes were uncovered, she found herself in an old, unused classroom. Around her were five people dressed with black cloaks, similar to the Hogwarts' ones, and their head's covered; ropes bound her hands and feet.

"Why haven't you answered the letter yet?" the tallest male said.

"What letter?" Cora asked, her voice starting to panic. The tall man that spoke was not one of the seventh year Gryffindors, this was either real or one the greatest pranks ever completed in Hogwarts. But why would a great prank be wasted on her?

"Don't play stupid Tetherwood, we know you got the letter," the same man said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cora said. In truth she didn't know what they were talking about. She hadn't gotten any letters since the one Dumbledore gave her; were they talking about that?

"Don't pull that shit on me, I know you got the letter. Which one of you morons sent her the letter?" the same man said.

There was no answer from the other four.

"You little fuckers…" he said, pointing his wand toward each of them. They all moved back in freight; Cora could tell he was the ringleader of the five. "Alright, since none of these assholes sent you the letter, I will have to tell you what it said myself. Our Master wants you to join his ranks."

Cora's eye widened, the Dark Lord wanted her to become a death eater. Which meant that these people talking to her were death eaters. She didn't know he was recruiting people not even out of school.

"As a gift for becoming one of us, Master has agreed to give you and your family protection from the killings of this war."

Cora opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She didn't want to join their side. They were the reason her parents were dead, she didn't want to be part of that cause. She couldn't stand having the guilt of being the reason for children crying over their parents' death. She didn't want other people to suffer like her.

"Do you have an answer or not? Not that you have a real choice," the man said.

Cora worked up all her courage, she didn't realize until that moment that she had any, "Never."

"What," the man said, grabbing her collar and throwing her against a wall. "Master always gets what he wants. He will get you on his side, mark my words. One more thing, it would be in you best interests if you didn't tell anyone about this. Deaths are something Dumbledore doesn't like to clean up around here."

The man punched her in the face, with a force that made her fall to the floor. While she lay there, the five death eaters left the room and before they left one of them untied her bindings by magic. Cora didn't know if it had anything to do with being a Gryffindor, but she felt stronger by saying no to them. She got off the floor and left for the Great Hall, not caring if she had a black eye. She had the feeling she didn't, not that anyone would care if she did.

"Cora, what took you so long?" Lily asked, as Cora sat down with her friends at the table.

"Went for a walk," Cora said, she knew now she didn't have a black eye; but it still hurt a bit.

"Are you sure," Kyra said, "Or did the blonde get lost again?"

"Seems I'm caught red handed," Cora said, half-heartedly laughing at the comment.

"Well you pretty much missed breakfast," Lily said.

"Yeah," Cora said. She was glad they didn't stick on the subject of her missing; she didn't want to talk about it. Were they serious in saying that they would kill her if she told anyone. 'Of course,' she thought, 'these are death eaters, and they kill in their free time.' She felt weird admitting it, but she was scared. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to join them either. She wanted to talk to someone about the encounter, to tell her that what she had done was the right thing, but who was there to talk to? Kyra would end up telling Sirius about the encounter, and once Sirius knew, it wouldn't be long until the whole school knew. Lily, she would freak out and probably never leave her side for the rest of year. Cora knew she couldn't tell a professor; it would lead to mayhem in the school. There was no one Cora could really trust with this secret. A secret, she seemed to have a lot of those lately. It wasn't that she didn't trust her friends anymore, but more that she was afraid of how they would react to her. She didn't want to be over protected or have special treatment because of who she was; she just wanted to be a normal kid. But it seemed that being normal in the wizarding world wasn't always an option.

Cora came out of her thoughts and found Kyra talking to Sirius.

"What time are we leaving?" she asked.

"About seven," Sirius said, moving closer to her.

"Sounds nice," Kyra said, moving right next him.

'Did they have to be so public,' Cora thought, moving her attention toward Lily.

"I am going to head toward the dorm, I still have to pick out an outfit," Lily said, getting up from the table.

"It's still early, are you kidding me?" James said, he obviously wanted some time with Lily.

"I am just picking out my outfit, then I am going to the library to do some homework," Lily said.

"But we have all break to do homework," James said.

"I'd rather finish it now then do it while I'm home," Lily said, leaving the Great Hall.

With Kyra occupied and Lily gone, Cora had no other reason to sit at the table. Without saying a word, she left the table. She needed some alone time to think anyway.

"Does anyone else notice Cora acting a bit weird lately?" Remus asked, when Cora was out of earshot.

Kyra, coming out of her moment with Sirius said, "Yea, me and Lily noticed it too."

"I don't see what the problem is. She is still upset that I didn't go out with her. Honestly, if I went out with every mediocre student in this school, I would loose my reputation." Sirius said.

"Don't say that about my friend," Kyra said, hitting Sirius lightly.

"Sorry babe," Sirius said, although he wasn't the least bit sorry.

"I think she would have gotten over that by now," Remus said.

"Why your sudden interest in Cora, Remus. Have a crush on her?" Kyra asked.

"No, do I need to like someone to ask a simple question about them?" Remus asked, he now wished he never brought the subject up. He knew something was wrong with Cora, but he wasn't sure what it was. He figured Kyra or Lily would know the answer, but he had guessed wrong. He knew, what ever she was going through, had something to do with blood; whether it is hers, or someone else's. She had the scent of blood on her, almost as if she used it as a perfume (as a werewolf he could smell blood anywhere). However on certain days it was stronger then others and the funny thing was, on the days she looked the most down, were the same days the scent would be it's strongest. Remus now knew that Kyra didn't know what was going on with Cora, but maybe Lily knew something. He would ask her soon.

"Fine Remus, keep your secrets. Well, I am going to leave you now, I probably have to help Lily pick out an outfit that will match perfectly," Kyra said, kissing Sirius on the forehead and then leaving the Hall.

"Cora Tetherwood, you can do better then that Moony," Sirius said.

"I don't like her," Remus said.

"I agree. You can do better. If you want a girlfriend, there are a few hot Ravenclaws who have their eye on you," James said.

"I don't like her, ok. Why do I even try?" Remus said, getting up and leaving.

"He's got it bad," James said.

"I don't understand why Cora though, what is so special about her?" Sirius said.

"Beats me Padfoot," James said, as the three left the Great Hall.

* * *

That night, most of the school was busy getting ready for the ball. The teachers were finishing up decorating the Great Hall and the students were either dressing or waiting for their date at a meeting place; meeting places ranged from at their common room entrance to being in the front of the Great Hall. This chaos made the common room almost empty, so the seven Gryffindors who were not planning on attending the ball could relax in comfort. Although they had the seats to themselves, the noise coming from the frantic people scurrying to the place they needed to be, made it seem like a Friday night right after curfew. The group knew the ball started at 7, and they figured the best time to start sneaking out was about twenty minutes before the ball. They were ready to leave; they just waited for the best time. When most people started leaving, that was their signal to leave.

They traveled in two groups of two and one group on three: Remus and Peter, Kyra and Sirius, and Cora, Lily, and James. The groups left five minutes apart, as to not draw attention to them leaving, as a group of seven would do. The teachers were taking many precautions to make sure the students who wanted to travel outside the school grounds were not going far. The teachers did not want Voldemort or his death eaters ruining the students' night. Because the teachers were already jumpy, the seven Gryffindor students had to make sure they didn't cause problems while they were sneaking out, since the four boys' not attending the ball was already suspicious enough.

All seven reached the statue a few minutes after seven, they could tell because the music from the Great Hall started filling every corner of the castle. The statue was of a horse. It stood almost seventeen hands high with the body of a Thoughbred; had the horse been real, it would most likely be used for racing. While Lily was studying the horse, she heard Sirius mutter something under his breath. The spell, as Lily figured it was, caused the horse to come alive. It went up on his hind legs and neighed. It began circling the seven and its cry's became louder and louder, until James raised his hand up and reached the horse's nose.

"There, there girl. Calm down." James said, rubbing the nose of the horse. The horse bowed to the group as James stopped petting it.

The seven were pulled into a tunnel; it felt similar to that of traveling with the use of a portkey, along with the spinning of floo powder. They landed, on their feet, in the middle of an empty field. Surrounding where the teenagers were, were seven small stones.

"Are those stones the only way back?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," Remus said, walking up to one of them. "But don't worry about anyone picking them up, if someone does it will either find it's way back or a new one will regenerate in it's place."

"Oh," Lily said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Where are we anyway?" Kyra asked, looking around and not seeing anything except a light in the distance.

"We are going there," Sirius said, pointing to the light in the distance.

"I was afraid you would say that," Kyra said, dreading the long walk they faced.

So the group began their walk to the bright lights in the distance, since the girls still had no idea where they were going. They walked in silence as they passed the sights along the way: a dilapidated barn, and a graveyard. When they reached close enough music, colored lights, and noises of people were heard.

"What is that?" Kyra asked, looking around the place confused.

"Is this," Lily said, "a carnival?"

"A carnival, what's that?" Kyra asked.

"This," Sirius whispered in her ear; Kyra laughed at his action.

"Can we go on the ferris wheel first?" Lily asked, bringing her hands together by her chest and jumping up and down. Lily hadn't been to a carnival since she was little, so she was extremely excited.

"Sure," James said, as Lily grabbed the other two girls and ran to the attraction; the boys followed after.

The group traveled together for a few hours, playing games and going on other rides. But soon the hour came when James and Sirius became anxious, they wanted some alone time. Kyra and Sirius left first, and then James and Lily separated from the group.

"I'll be off then," Cora said, leaving the two remaining boys.

"You find anything out about her?" Peter asked.

"Not really. We already knew her parents were killed last year, but I also found out that almost her whole family was taken out," Remus said, leaning against a wall. "The only family she has left is her brother Alex."

"How did they survive if the rest of the family was killed?" Peter asked.

"Not sure. I found out all this stuff from Lily, she never asked."

"We have to find out," Peter said.

"You act like this is easy. Neither of us are friends with her, she wouldn't tell us something like that," Remus said.

"How do you know that?" Peter asked.

"She wouldn't tell Lily, that says something," Remus said, ending the conversation.

* * *

Lily and James walked in silence for a few moments.

Lily didn't know what to say or do. Her heart wanted to be with him, but her head kept reminding her of his arrogant attitude. But, he had changed. He didn't seem like that bigheaded teenager he was last year. She hated him, and yet liked him. Lily was confused; in a situation like this, did you follow your head or heart?

"So what do you want to do?" James said, breaking the awkward silence between the two.

James had been waiting for this for years. He didn't count the last date they had, that was forced. But this, they agreed on this. James hated to admit it, but he was nervous. Never in his dating life had he been nervous on a date. He was scared he would mess up again and force Lily to separate from him. He wanted to let her know the real him, the person barely anyone else knew.

"I don't know," Lily said, as they continued walking.

"House of Mirrors?" James asked, motioning to the building next to them.

"Sure," Lily said with a smile.

They walked into the attraction, James ahead of Lily. They walked for a bit, James was always about five steps in front of Lily, until Lily screamed.

"What happened?" James asked, his voice strangely being a serious tone.

"I just saw a rat," Lily said, jumping up and down in disgust from the rat.

"It's just a rat, what is so bad about them?" James said, laughing.

"It's not funny," Lily said, hitting James on the arm and talking in the tone of a five-year-old spoiled brat. "I hate rats almost as much as I hate bugs."

"You're such a girl," James said, taking her hand and leading her through the maze.

"Shut up," Lily said, not bothering to remove her hand from his grasp.

James was surprised that she didn't object to him taking her hand. Maybe she liked him more then she let on. Lily was always the girl that James could never figure out, which could be the reason why he liked her so much. There were many girls who would go out with him in a second; it was kind of ironic that the only girl he really wanted was the one he couldn't have. That is how his feelings toward Lily started; he wanted something he couldn't have. His fascination with her soon turned into a liking. He was knocked back to reality by feeling Lily's hand tense in his own. 'Say something,' he told himself; the awkward silence was killing him.

"You know Lily, I would have never thou-" James said, but was cut off by him running straight into one of the mirrors.

Lily burst out with laugher, but in the mist of her giggles she managed to say, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," James said, bringing his hand up to his head.

"Let me see," Lily said, her laugher ceasing. James took his hand away and let her look at his forehead. She touched it with her hand, which caused him to flinch.

"Oh you big baby, it's not even red. But if it is sore now, you might have a bruise tomorrow," Lily said, taking her hand off of his forehead.

"Great. I might have a big spot on my forehead tomorrow, that's just great," James said.

Lily laughed, "You might you might not, it depends."

"Depends on what?" James said, realizing how close they were.

Lily realized how close they were, and she felt herself leaning in, James followed Lily's actions. They were only a few millimeters apart when laugher was heard in the maze. The two broker apart.

"We should go," Lily said, turning and going through the rest of the maze, with James on her heals.

James snapped his figures in disappointment.

* * *

Cora sat by herself, close to where the rocks were that would bring the seven back to Hogwarts. She would have been thinking about how alone she was at the moment, but her mind was filled with thoughts she never thought she would think about. Voldemort wanted her on his side. But why would a powerful, but evil, wizard want her on his side. She had nothing special to give…complex dueler. Is that why he wanted her, just because she would someday have the art of complex dueling perfected? He wanted to use her, but isn't that what Dumbledore would do if she stayed on his side. Whichever side she was on, they would only need her because of her abilities. They would probably put her in the front line of a battle with the other side, not caring if she lived or died. She would be forced to fight to the death, whether it was for the light or darkness.

If she worked for the light, for Dumbledore, she risked the life of her friends and brother. She knew Voldemort would make her pay if she did not join him, but what he would do exactly was a mystery. He would either kill her, so that no one would be able to make use of her ability, or he would attack her heart; killing or torturing her friends and brother until she joined him. But she didn't want to join the dark side. They were the reason her parents were dead, the reason she only had her brother left in this world. If anything happened to her friends, she would kill herself, without a second thought. Lily and Kyra were the sisters she never had, they were the last living part of her family.

Cora would not be able to kill people who never did anything wrong, and bringing more unneeded suffering to world. She knew if she asked anyone what she should do, they would say not to join Voldemort, but the decision was not that easy when it was a matter of life and death. Cora pitied anyone who had to make this decision, it was easy when it was someone else, but difficult when it was you. She wished she were stronger and braver. Maybe if she had an equal spirit to Kyra or Lily she would have the power to say no to the most evil man alive, but she was just Cora. Plain ordinary Cora who just happened to have an ancient ability, besides that she wasn't any different then everyone else. She still had the same weakness and temptations. She wasn't a hero, she was Corinthia Tetherwood, a normal; teenage girl trying to live a normal life with abnormal abilities

* * *

"We're finally out of there. I thought we were going to be stuck in there forever," Lily said, as the two walked out of the maze.

"I never knew muggles could be so tricky in their maze making," James said.

"You know, you and other wizards don't give a lot of credit to muggles. They are just like you and me, but without magic. I was a muggle for eleven years," Lily said.

James just shook his head and laughed. The one thing you didn't make a comment about in front of Lily was muggles. Being a muggleborn, she was very defensive of muggles. She never stood for anyone making fun of them or even saying a rude comment against them. Of course, Lily was never one to put up with crap about anything. If she thought something was wrong, she let you know about it.

"What should we do now?" Lily asked, as they walked around the carnival.

"You want to go and get pizza or something? We skipped dinner and I don't know about you, but I am hungry," James said.

"Now that you mention it, I am hungry too," Lily said, laughing.

James was ahead of Lily, as they walked by the tent with the food in it.

"Why am I not surprised," James said to Lily, motioning toward Sirius and Kyra eating.

"Does he think of anything else beside food?" Lily said, smiling.

"Girls and getting into trouble maybe, but food is at least number three," James said, smiling. "Come on, we will get food when we are back at the castle, unless you want to eat now."

"I can wait," Lily said, as the two walked off.

"You want to see something?" James asked. Lily nodded her head. James took her hand and ran with her outside the carnival to an open field. But they didn't stop there; they kept running until they came upon a large farm. They ran to the right, inside of a large barn.

"James, we could get in so much trouble being here," Lily said, slightly pulling on James' hand.

"Don't worry about it. You worry too much," James said, smiling. "Here she is, come over here Lily."

Lily traveled over to the part of the barn where James was looking. He got out of the way and she saw a white horse with a light mane.

"An Arabian," Lily said, looking at the horse longingly. "She's beautiful. That reminds me James, how did you calm down that horse at Hogwarts?"

James smiled, "I am good with horses. We used to have three of them at home. I don't know if they are still there, someone may have sold them since my parents died."

"I thought you left school to go to the funeral?"

"I didn't want to go back to that house. I am here and I can live with them being gone, but if I go home and find them not there…it will be totally different."

"I get what you mean," Lily said, taking James hand and squeezing it.

James stared at her hand in his, "Lily."

"I'm not sure why I'm doing this," Lily said.

She then leaned in and kissed him, her 'enemy,' James Potter.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I was recovering for like three days and then I had writers block every time I started to write. But I have over 4,000 words in this chapter, so the chapter is longer then usual, so the wait was worth it. I just realized that for a Lily and James fan fiction there is a lot on Cora. Sorry about that, I just like her as a character. The next chapter should be up by Friday or Saturday morning because I am going on vacation next weekend until the second, so I want to get another chapter done. The next one should take place during the winter break, unless a different idea pops into my head. I hope you like this chapter, I do.

While I was doing some of my research, I made some predictions about the sixth book. They may change based on my research, but here is what I think may be:

Petunia: was a witch, but never attended Hogwarts. She lost her power in some way. But, whatever she is, there is definitely more to her then meets the eye.

Percy Weasley: my guess is that he may be the new Minister if Magic. This probably won't happen, but it may.

Half-Blood Prince: I think it is Dumbledore. I also think Dumbledore may be Gryffinor's heir, just a guess.

Feel free to tell me your options on the matter, I like to know what other people think about these and other subjects considering HP.

Kudos for all those that reviewed:

La-Lune: Thanks

PadfootandProngs91: I can't keep a secret from you can I. J

Dangerously Non-Existent: your guesses seem to be close to the truth.

evansentranced: I would lover for you to be my beta reader. Voldemort could not use the older death eaters because they are not in school anymore. If he were to use them, Dumbledore would get suspicious.

Windowseat Wonderer

Truth

melody-dance

firefur1

softballsweeti11


	22. Boys Will Be Boys

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"A dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for because you can never predict when they are going to do something incredibly stupid."  
-Pirates of the __Caribbean_

**Chapter 22: Boys Will Be Boys**

The day after the ball, most students were returning home for the winter holidays. Lily, Kyra, Cora, Remus, and Peter were all packed and ready to board the Hogwarts Express; which left James and Sirius alone at Hogwarts. The teachers, being aware that the two were staying, grew nervous and worrisome. Two of the most dangerous students to ever attend Hogwarts were alone, without their middleman to keep them out of major trouble. They knew the fate of those who were staying over the break, were in their hands.

"You guys sure you don't want to stay with us?" Sirius asked, with a sly grin spreading on his face.

"That smile on your face makes me positive," Remus said, laughing. "Which reminds me, what trouble are you two going to get into while we are gone?"

"What do you mean Moony? Like me and Prongs here would ever do anything to get into trouble," Sirius said, his grin growing more by the minute.

"Fine, don't tell me your plans. Just don't get into too much trouble," Remus said, as the four boys left the dorm.

They walked together down to the great doors that led to the outside. Lily, Kyra, and Cora were waiting, just outside the doors, for the boys. When Kyra saw Sirius she ran up to him to say good-bye. However, when Lily saw James, she just stood still. She didn't know how to react to him ever since last night. They didn't talk much after she kissed him; they just walked back to the circle of rocks and went back to Hogwarts. They were both to shocked to speak then, but now, James knew he had to say something.

"Hey Lily," James said, walking over to her.

"Hi," Lily said, not looking into James' eyes.

James put his hand on her chin and lifted it, to make her look into his eyes. "You can't keep ignoring me every time something happens between us."

"Why not?" Lily asked, holding back to urge to wrap her arms around him.

"Lily, do you want me to forget about last night? If that is what you want, just tell me to do it and I will," James said, his voice becoming a little rough.

After a short pause on Lily's part she spoke, "I don't know what I want. It may not seem like we are moving fast, but we are. I hated you in the beginning of the year, and now I don't. I just need some time to get away and think. So remember last night, at least until I get back to you with a response."

"I guess I can deal with that," James said.

Lily reached up and hugged James, he was caught by surprise,"I'll see you after break."

"See you soon," James said, with a smile as he let go of Lily.

Lily just looked at him, bewilderment was written all over her face. She hoped he wasn't planning on doing anything that could get him expelled. Of course, this was James she was talking about; he could have something extremely dangerous on his mind and not think anything of it.

Lily shook her head, with a smile, and walked into the horseless carriage her friends were in. She knew he was planning something, but what it was, was a mystery to her. Lily always had a tough time judging what was on James' mind. Sure, she could tell his emotions easily, but what it was exactly…James wasn't someone who could be read with accuracy. That is what captivated her so much, his spontaneous and sometimes dangerous side. No matter how much she told him and others how she hated that side of him, she loved it. He wasn't scared of anything; he was one of the toughest people she knew. He was a true Gryffindor because now matter how rough something got, he always fought it to the end…without showing a bit of vulnerability.

James watched as the carriage took Lily and his friends away from the school. He smiled to himself; she had no idea what was going to happen.

"When are you going?" Sirius asked.

"Tonight, you going to be okay by yourself?" James asked.

"I am seventeen years old, I think I can take care of myself," Sirius said, as the two walked up the stairs.

James laughed, "Sure."

"Besides, I will be occupied tonight, so I won't even know you are gone," Sirius said, with a smile.

"What are you going to do?"

"I have a date."

"Kyra isn't gone five minutes and you already are planning a date. I thought you were going to stick with one girl from now on?"

"I'm sick of that, I don't know how anyone can stand to be with one girl more than a month. I am going back to being my old rebel self," Sirius said, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Yeah, a rebel without a cause," James said to himself.

"I heard that," Sirius said, "You forgot I have ears like a hawk."

"It's eyes like a hawk, if you are going to use a muggle saying at least get it right," James said, hitting Sirius in the back of the head. "Plus your ears are more like a dogs, don't you think."

"Shut up," Sirius said, pretending to be hurt by the remark.

"So who are you going on this date with anyway?"

"Ariel Sayers," Sirius said.

"Her, again. Honestly Padfoot, she is the Hogwarts whore."

"So, I need a break from, 'I won't go any farther than second' Kyra," Sirius said. "Trust me, you will be bored after a month or so of Lily, and she is worse than Kyra. I don't know how you do it."

"Will you ever grow up?" James asked, as they walked into the Gryffindor common room.

"No, Probably not."

* * *

The train came to a stop at the station and the five Gryffindors left the train. All of them were excited to see their relatives after their few months of separation. Kyra left right away, her parents said they had a family emergency and didn't even have time to say a short hello to Lily's parents. Peter left with his parents, saying only a few words about his father not liking to wait.

"Where's your brother?" Lily asked, as her parents stood next to her.

"I don't know, I hope he didn't forget," Cora said, looking around.

"Well, I guess I could wait with you. Right mom, dad?" Lily asked, looking at her parents.

"Sure, anything for Cora. How are you doing anyway, sweet heart?" Lily's mom asked Cora.

"Fine," Cora said, she knew she was talking about her loose. That subject was still painful to talk about, even though it was during the last school year.

After ten minutes, Lily's father spoke up, "I hate to say this Lily, but Petunia expects us for tea soon. Cora is welcome to come with us if…"

"No it's fine. My brother would start to worry if I wasn't here when he showed up," Cora said, with a smile.

"I'll stay with her Mr. And Mrs. Evans." Remus said, moving next to Cora.

"You must be Remus," Lily's mom said, "nice to meet you."

"Well, we should be off," Lily's father said, and the three left.

Lily looked back at her friend as she left the train station. Something was bothering her; Lily could always read a person well. She could tell if a person was having a bad day, or a good day, was frustrated or satisfied. But Cora had been hard to read since her family was killed. She always seemed to have sadness in her eyes that never went away, even if the girls were having the time of their lives. Lily hoped Remus wouldn't say anything to upset Cora while they were alone. Lily shook her head; he probably suspected something as well. He was as good at reading people as Lily was, maybe better. He was usually the quiet one in any group he was around. Being quiet made him pick up things better; it is funny what a person finds out by being silent even for a day. With a heavy heart, Lily left Cora and Remus.

"Is your brother always late?" Remus asked, trying to start a conversation with the girl.

"Sometimes, I think he may be held up at work though," Cora said, looking at her feet.

A moment of silence filled the air.

"So, it's just you and your brother then?" Remus asked, his attempt at conversation wasn't going anywhere.

"Yeah," she said, not taking her eyes off her feet.

Remus let out a sigh. He wanted to be alone with Cora in order to try and get information out of her. But at this rate, he wouldn't have gotten her name if he didn't already know it. She didn't seem like she wanted to talk, and for the first time in a while, Remus wanted so badly to talk to a certain person. He knew something was wrong, but she kept it hidden from the outside world. He wanted to get inside, but she had an invisible shield protecting her from others probing into her life.

"Won't you parents get mad that you staying?" Cora asked.

At last, she opened a conversation. Remus may have wanted something more substantial, but this would have to do. "Not really. If they see me talking to some one my mom will start showing my dad all the muggle things here."

"Your mom's a muggle?"

"Yeah."

"Must be tough for her," Cora said, in a whisper to herself, but Remus heard her.

"Why would it be tough on her? She loves magic and everything there is about it," Remus said, a bit confused.

"Nevermind," Cora said, starting to look around the station.

Cora looked at her watch. He was an hour later. She didn't care about waiting by herself, but she felt guilty having Remus wait with her. He never talked to her before, why did he have the sudden interest in her? She knew he was trying to get information from her; she could tell by his want to start conversations with her. The thought then occurred to her, was he a death eater or even someone working for that side. But Remus was always nice and sweet to Lily, he could never be evil. But then again, he was a werewolf, not that it meant anything, but Voldemort could have coaxed him into being a death eater with the promise of being relieved from his burden.

She didn't think anything of him being a werewolf. In fact, her great uncle was a werewolf. She knew how hard it was to be in Remus' situation because she knew what her great uncle went through. He was killed by a muggle hunter who thought he was a wolf. What a shock he got when he found the wolf to be a man; since if werewolves are killed in that form, they turn human after death. At least his mother was okay with what he was, since she was a muggle and all. Her great uncle, being bitten as an adult, was shunned by his mother's side of the family. Being a werewolf was not only painful physically, but emotionally as well. Remus, whether he knew it or not, was in for a roller coaster life…she hoped he was ready.

"If you want to go, you can," Cora said, her voice filled with worry for Remus and her brother. She didn't know where he was, what if the death eaters did something to him. Although they said they would kill her, they weren't ones to always tell the truth.

"Corinthia," a voice said from far away, though it was getting closer to the two students.

"Alex," Cora said, hugging her brother.

When they released, Alex noticed Remus. He stood up straight and asked, in a very serious tone, "And who are you?"

"Remus, I'm a classmate of Cora's."

"He is in Gryffindor too." Cora said, but she spoke again when she realized what her brother was thinking. "Lily couldn't wait because she had to be somewhere, so Remus stayed with me."

"I guess your ride is here," Alex said.

"Yeah, I'll be off then," Remus said, getting his stuff together and leaving for the door, "Talk to you later Cora."

When he was out of earshot Cora spoke, "Don't even think of the 'B' word because it isn't true. I don't even talk to him in school. He is a friend of Lily's, so he was doing her a favor."

"Alright, whatever Corin."

"Don't call me that, I hate that name!" Cora yelled, as the two left the station. "What took you so long anyway?"

"Work, what else," Alex said, his voice becoming low, as if he was ashamed by it. It was costing them a lot to maintain themselves at home and at school. It was planned that as soon as she was out of school, she had to get a job to help with the bills. She couldn't move out on her brother and leave him with a huge price tag that she helped build up. She also couldn't go to that school Dumbledore wanted her to go to after Hogwarts. Her brother was suffering, and when push came to shove blood relation was put above all else.

"I figured," Cora said, putting her stuff in the car.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is short, but it was either this or no post until at least next Friday. Hope you like this chapter. Not much happens, but there are a few clues as to what happens in the next chapter. Lots of Lily...that is all I can say without giving anything awayI hope I get over 200 for this chapter, that would make me so HAPPY! PLEASE REVIEW! Don't make me get Sirius to do his puppy eyes again to make you guys review, though he does love the attention. In other news I finally got the two other books by J. K. Rowling, the beasts and Quidditch ones. I recommend buying them or at least reading them if anyone hasn't yet. You get a lot of good info from them!

Kudos for everyone that reviewed last chapter!

cilverblood: w0w you have a lot of back up. Thanks of telling me that! I love hearing what other people think on the subject on things to come. Which reminds me I have to read the fifth book again to search for clues for the 6th book.

PadfootandProngs91: Where did you get this description. I went there and I couldn't see it, how did you get it. Just to tell you, your thing about Remus got me thinking it was him. SO now I am torn...Remus or Dumbledore...still deciding.

(the blank name): I read in the second book that Percy wanted to be Ministry of Magic...that is where I got the idea.

PhiloNysh: Thank You!

lilynjamesAAF: thanks!

Taleen: thanks...I like her as a character too, because I think everyone can relate her to themselves or someone they know.

Windowseat Wonderer: Hopefully the cruise will give me lots of inspiration...which is why I will have my notebook with me

softballsweetie11:smiles:


	23. Surprises

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."  
Theodore Roosevelt_

**Chapter 23: Surprises **

Lily and her parents had arrived home to find her sister running around the house.

"I thought you guys were gone, I didn't realize that you would out today," Petunia said, paying no attention to Lily.

"You know we had to pick up Lily from school today," Mr. Evans said.

"Shhhh!" Petunia said, "Vernon is in the next room. He doesn't know about that yet."

"You are going to have to tell him eventually," Mrs. Evans said, putting her coat on the coat rack.

"I will tell him when he is ready to hear it. Anyway, back to the point. We have to leave now if we want to make it in time. So can you guys put on something descent and then we can leave," Petunia said.

"Alright then," Mr. And Mrs. Evans said, heading for the stairs.

Lily went to head upstairs to her room when Petunia stopped her, "Sorry, but the invitation is for mom and dad only."

"Like I would want to go to his parents' house anyway," Lily said, acting as snobbish as her sister.

Lily and her sister had not been able to stand each other since she could remember. (Their parents figured this hatred would grow out of their systems, as it usually did once siblings grew older. But in the case of Petunia and Lily Evans, it was the complete opposite.) However, the one moment that made their anger grow the worst, was the day Lily got her letter from Hogwarts. The rest of the summer Petunia became more furious with Lily, not even referring to her at the dinner table. To her, Lily was non-existent. Lily continued to get most of the attention from their parents until Petunia became engaged and married all in one year, last year. Since then the two girls had equal attention from both parents but, whether they meant to do it or not, they continued to fight for the main attention from their parents. This explained why Petunia would invite their parents over to her home on the day Lily returned from Hogwarts.

The two girls continued to stare at each other, with disgust, until their parents traveled down the stairs.

"I don't know how late we will be Lily, so don't wait up," Mr. Evans said, loosening the tension between the two girls. The one thing the girls never did was fight in front of their parents. They did do other things that made the elders know they hated each other, but other than that, there was no decency between the two.

Lily went to the window to see her mother, father, sister, and brother-in-law leave the house. She watched as they went inside the car, back out of the driveway, and made their way to the end of the street. There they made a left and out of Lily's view. With nothing happening at that end of the street, Lily turned her view to the family across the street; they seemed to be coming home from some family activity. The whole family came out of the car smiling and laughing, they seemed so happy just to be in each other's company. But Lily wondered if they held a secret too, if deep down inside their family was going through a horrible disaster. Lily had learned over her life that people are not always what they seem to be. People always tried to make it off that they were happy when they were sad, or content when they were angry. Lily was one of those gifted people who could usually see past a person's façade. But, there are people who are too complex for their emotions to be set out in stone. Those people could be suffering greatly, and no one in the world would notice…not even people like Lily. Those people were in the most danger of becoming rooted in one type of feeling or life style. Those feelings and life styles were usually the negative ones of society.

Even though the family could be hiding a dark secret, Lily wished her family were like that. She didn't care if it was a false love between the four of them. She didn't want to fight with her sister, but for some reason even the thought of her made her so mad! She didn't even know what started the uneasy tension between the two of them. Lily didn't have a single good memory of her sister, and it did make her a bit sad to think about it. She wished her and her sister would get along, but it didn't seem like the two were meant to get along, almost as if they weren't supposed to be sisters. In fact, now that she thought about it, if her sister and her were put next to each other, they wouldn't even look like sisters. Their features were as different as their personalities.

Lily starred out the window for a few minutes; she found the sky becoming dark. It was strangely warm for a late December day, so if the clouds ripped open rain would fall down in the area around her. Hopefully it would hold up until her parents got home, so they wouldn't have to travel in the rain.

Lily brought her trunk up to her room; she put a lightening charm on it to make it lighter. (a/n: I believe, with looking at the 5th book, that wizards can do magic outside of school when they are 17). She sorted her clothes into piles and brought them down stairs into the laundry room. Although she could have cleaned them with a charm, she felt that the muggle way was more effective; she guessed old habits died hard. As Lily put the first set of clothes in the washer, the rain started falling. It was pounding on all the windows in the room. Remembering that she left the window in her room open, she ran up the stairs and into her room to close it. She tried to stay in her room and put other things away, but the rain was joined by thunder and lightning and it was getting too loud in her room upstairs. So she traveled down stairs, with her schoolbooks in hand, to get a start on her holiday homework.

For about a half an hour she sat at the kitchen table in peace, making good ground on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay, when she heard a window slam open. From where she was it sounded like it came from her room, so she ran up. She almost tripped while she ran up the stairs, because the lights went out. She traveled to her room's window without bumping into anything, since she knew her house like the back of her hand. She closed the window and locked it. But she wondered how it opened in the first place. Did someone try to break into her house? Was someone looking for her? What if it was death eaters? Voldemort hated muggles and muggleborns, so she shouldn't be surprised if he was here. Lily took her wand out of her pocket and held it up. She didn't light it, so if there were an intruder in the house, they wouldn't see her. She walked slowly out of her room, but turned back when she heard the floor creak. The noise came from her room, so it wasn't from her. Lily started breathing heavily and her heart started pounding against her chest. She kept her wand out, ready to strike at the slightest bit of movement. She then saw a figure, when the lightning struck outside, and cursed it.

"Ouch," a male voice said. But the voice was familiar to her, "Lily it's me."

"James?" Lily asked, as she lit her wand and walked over to him. She felt an urge to help him, since she had cut him on his shoulder with the curse she cast; but what if this wasn't James? What if it was someone using the polyjuice potion to try and trick her? Lily knew James was at school and that he would never leave for any reason. She thought again, this is James and he didn't care about the rules when he wanted to do something; he just did it. She had to be sure this was James, even though she doubted it. How would he get out of Hogwarts without anyone seeing him?

"How do I know this is the real James?" Lily asked, her voice being as stern as her face. Although Lily was nervous, she didn't show any sign of it to the person on the floor.

"I came from school to surprise you, but when the storm started and I found out you were alone, I got an idea."

"What kind of idea?" Lily asked, pointing her wand at his chest.

He then smiled, with a grin that only a true prankster could make, "I put all your lights out, made the wind howl as the window opened. You know, just to freak you out a bit."

"Well, it worked, whoever you are," Lily said, not taking her eye off him. "How do I know you aren't working for Voldemort?"

"If I was working for Voldemort, you would have been dead already."

"You said his name. People who work for him are so afraid that they cringe at the word," Lily said, softening her gaze at him…she was starting to believe this was the real James.

"And since I can't be a follower, I certainly can't be Voldemort. He wouldn't show up looking like someone else. Plus, he would have made a better entrance; like breaking open the door or something like that."

Lily thought for a moment. She was beginning to think this was the real James. He talked like him, and he wasn't afraid to say his name. But she still didn't know if she believed him or not. "I still don't know if I can believe you."

"You want me to prove it then," he said. His voice was starting to get weak from the pain he was in. The cut wasn't huge, but it was deep. The bleeding wasn't going to stop unless the user said the counter curse, the curse in it also made it sting. Of course a potion could be made to cure it, but neither one of the two had the supplies to make it.

"Yes, but I have no idea how. So you are going to have to sit there until I think of one," Lily said, she was getting frustrated because she couldn't think clearly.

Lily waited about five minutes; her mind was still not functioning correctly. Her wand was lit, watching the face of the man in front of her. She knew that if she waited long enough, if it was the polyjuice potion, the effects would wear off. But before she could figure out what to do, she heard him speak again.

"Lily, do the counter curse," he said.

At first she was taken back by the comment, until she realized the curse she had cast on him. Not wanting to be responsible for the death of a possibly innocent man she said, "I guess," and spoke the counter curse, which stopping the bleeding and stinging.

"Thanks, I thought I was going to pass out," he said, trying to get closer to her, but was stopped by her wand.

"You are going nowhere unless you prove to me your-"

But Lily was cut off by him moving her wand and placing his lips on her in one quick movement, which took Lily by surprise. At first Lily attempted to push away from the kiss, until her memory clicked. Lily had kissed a few people in life, and knew that everyone kissed and showed affection in different ways. The kiss the man was giving her clicked with the memory of James kissing her the night before in the stable. No amount of potion or spell could make two people kiss in the same way, no matter how hard they tried. She kissed him back, knowing the man's true identity. She was excited it was James and not a poser, but her mind was angry with him for leaving school; though at the moment she didn't care.

When they parted, she didn't know what to say. She brought her middle and pointer fingers of her right hand up to her mouth. She knew it was James, but she didn't know how to express it to him that she was wrong.

James leaned his head against Lily's and said in a whisper, "Have I proved my point?" She looked into his eyes and said, taking her hand away from her mouth, "I think so."

James just smiled, "Did I freak you out?"

"Out of my mind," Lily said, moving her head so that James was no longer leaning on it. "Can you put on the lights now?"

Without a word, James flicked his wand and all the lights turned on.

"Don't do that again," Lily said, starting to calm down from the incident. "You could have just knocked on the door and I would have let you in."

"But this method was much more fun," James said, looking around the house and smiling. He had never been in a complete muggle home before. The closet thing was the one time he ventured over to Remus' house. His mother was muggle, so there were some muggle contraptions in his home, but only a few. His mother was very open to the magical world, which was one reason why she didn't abandon him when he was bitten. He had many questions for Lily, but he knew now was not the best time to ask them.

Lily rolled her eyes at his comment. Although he had changed a lot over the summer, his thirst for a good prank would always be with him. It was part of him, and asking him to change that much would interfere with who he was. She liked the new James, but inside she loved the way he lived his life. He lived his life as if he were to die tomorrow. He never regretted anything at the end of the day, perhaps that is the best way to live.

Lily looked at him in the light. She saw the cut on his shoulder and let out a hard breathe. "I am so sorry about that."

"It's fine," James said, touching his shoulder. "At least you took it off the curse when you did."

Lily looked at the blood on the floor. Tears began forming in her eyes; she had hurt the person she cared for the most; not that she would tell him that. "I am so sorry," she said, cleaning the blood with a movement of her wand.

Seeing the tears forming in her eyes James spoke, "Lily, I'm fine."

"You're sure?" Lily asked, looking at his shoulder. "But you lost a lot of blood-"

"Not even a pint, muggles give more than that when they donate blood. So I'll be fine," James said, a smile on his face.

Lily smirked. James was a pureblood and he still knew a lot about muggles and how they lived. He probably learned a lot from Remus, since Sirius was also a pureblood. She knew Peter was part of the group too, but he was a quiet member. He seemed like a sweet guy to Lily, but he didn't seem to talk very much. Maybe Peter was half-blood or muggleborn, but Lily wasn't sure.

"Even using magic, that spot will stain," Lily said, moving over to James and looking at the large amount of blood on his shirt. "I could give you one of my Dad's shirts to wear."

"Thanks, it will hard explaining to Sirius how I got blood on my shirt," he said, smiling.

"Speaking of Sirius…how did you get here? If this gets out Dumbledore will probably be forced to resign being Headmaster and McGonagall will expel you!" Lily said, her temper rising a bit, as the two walked downstairs to her parents' room.

"I won't get caught," James said with confidence.

"How can you be so sure?"

"The many times me and my friends have snuck in and out of the school, I'm even surprised at the many things we have gotten away with," James said, as the two walked into the largest bedroom in the house.

Lily opened the closet door and pulled out a shirt. She handed it to James and said, "Don't do anything to this shirt or my dad will freak. I'll just tell him that neither of us can do magic out of school until we graduate, so you couldn't dry yourself with a spell. He won't mind, just don't do anything bad with it." Lily's anger was still present in her voice.

"Lily, come on. Don't be mad at me," James said, as he took the shirt from her.

"I'm not mad James," Lily said, she sounded like a mother who was disappointed with her child, "I just thought that part of you had left."

"Lily, I have done everything in my power to make myself worthy for you. But there are some things I can't change, they are part of who I am," James said, sincerely.

"I know," Lily said walking to the door, "I just," but Lily couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Lily turned and closed the door of her parents' room so that James could change.

* * *

James watched as the door closed, thinking if he had done the right thing. Maybe he should have just stayed at Hogwarts, even if he really wanted to surprise her. It seemed his surprise was causing her pain, instead of the delight he expected it to bring. He never wished to cause her pain; she was the last person he wanted to see in torment. So, with a heavy heart, he took off his shirt and stared into the mirror above the dresser. He saw the cut that was on his shoulder and to him it told him a lot about the person he cared about the most. Although he would protect her from anything, her attacking him caused him to think of how much protection she really needed. She was the smartest witch currently attending Hogwarts. She was known to have a quick temper and, he now knew from experience, she wasn't afraid to hurt anyone who seemed to put her in danger. The delicate flower aurora that surrounded her was a false illusion set up to fool her enemies. Lily was fully capable to take care of herself when danger approached. James put on the shirt, it was a little big, but it was better than the other one. With one final look in the mirror, he opened the door to find Lily in the living room looking out the window.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily closed the door to her parents' room wondering what she should do next. She was furious with James for sneaking out of school, and yet she was glad to see him. But him being here scared her. She knew Voldemort had killed his parents, but why they were killed was still a mystery. There was the obvious reason, which was that they were aurors, but that didn't sit well with a lot of people, which included Lily. She feared that one day he would end up dead, and being out of Hogwarts, which was the safest place he could be, meant he could be traced. Her home wasn't secured by magic since her family was muggle, so if any dark wizards knew he was here, he was as good as dead. The last thing Lily wanted on her conscience was the death of someone she cared about. But not only the threat of him being killed frightened her; if he wasn't killed, he could be expelled. If he was seen leaving Hogwarts or if he is caught sneaking back in, he would be expelled. Lily wouldn't be able to take a whole year without seeing him. Although she didn't want to admit it, she liked having him around. A day was never normal with James Potter, or any of his friends for that matter. Becoming anxious about what could happen while he was here, Lily moved into the room across the hall, which was the living room. She sat on the couch and stared out the window only a few minutes before she heard the door open.

Lily turned her head to look at James. He looked a bit silly with her father's shirt on; it was too big for him. She let out a laugh as she said, "Not bad."

"Don't laugh," James said, walking into the room and sitting next to Lily. "Can I do a shrinking charm on it?"

"No," Lily said quickly, with her laughter ceasing, "I don't know if I will be able to get it back to it's normal size. My dad would kill me if I ruined his shirt."

"Fine," James said. "Speaking of your family, what are you going to tell them about me being here?"

Lily's eyes widened. She had forgotten all about her parents coming home. She couldn't just tell him to leave or throw him in her room. He had her father's shirt on, and he had a quick eye and would notice it missing…even if he never wore the shirt.

"I'll just say you are a friend from school and your parents locked you out of the house for the night and you need a place to sleep. Tomorrow you can leave to go back to Hogwarts and we can forget this ever happened."

"If you want me to leave now I will," James said, looking at his hands, which were in his lap.

"I didn't mean it that way," Lily said, adjusting her position on the couch. "It's just if you get in trouble for being here, I don't think I would be able to live with that guilt."

"Whatever," James said, getting up from his seat.

"I mean it," Lily said, standing up next to him.

"One more question."

"Shoot."

"What do you mean by just friends?" James asked, looking her straight in the eye.

Lily thought for a moment as she looked into his eyes. She didn't know what their relationship should be labeled. Were they close friends? But the fact that they had kissed more than once crushed that theory. They weren't formally going out, although she couldn't think of anyone else who she would rather be with in the long run. But Lily wasn't ready to tell James how she felt about him. She thought that if she kept herself from thinking it, the feelings would just go away. But it seemed to be the opposite. The more she tried to push him away, the closer she wanted him to be. So she answered the question, taking the easy way out of the situation James had put her in.

"I told you to give me the break to think it over."

"Take your time," James said, his voice was trying to be cheerful but she could tell he was disappointed.

"If it helps any, you did scare me when you came into the house," Lily said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

James smirked and laughed a bit at her comment. With James laughing, Lily couldn't help but smile. But both smiles soon vanished when headlights pulled into her driveway. Lily's parents were home, which meant the explanations were about to begin.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, writers block is starting to kill me. I start school on Wednesday so that means if I get one chapter up a week I will be on track. Since I will be in my junior year and colleges look at that year the most, I have to concentrate on my schoolwork. I say that now, I hope that attitude lasts the whole year. I will try to get another chapter up and written before I start school, but I don't have any promises. I beg you not to give on my story during the school year, since I won't be able to update as quickly. PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEWS MAKE MY WRITES BLOCK GO AWAY BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO WRITE, SO THEN I AM FORCED TO WRITE WHICH CAUSES ME TO UPDATE FASTER! That may not make sense to you, but it does to me. In plan English though, I am saying PLEASE REVIEW!

Kudos for everyone who reviewed last chapter!

Truth: thanks for the review. Your predictions make me smile, that's all I will say.

cilverblood:smiles: You are too much. Thanks for the review. BUt it will be hard to forget what you said. But it was a nice review to read because I was having a bad day so it made me smile. Thanks! I always look up stuff on the Harry Potter Lexion, it is like the Harry Potter Bible, lol! I hate when Lily's friends get paired up with the Mauraders. At first I wanted it to be like that, but then I wanted to make this story more accurate. PLus I can't see Sirius being, well to be blunt, serious. I am trying to not have this be a AU but I already have some things are not true to the canon, but it is mostly not AU. I think Lily had friends, but just because she has friends does not mean they are part of the order. Or maybe they die and don't have a chance to be? Just a thought for you to think about. Peter, well even though I don't really have much like for him, I still pictured him as the quiet type. Since in the 5th book he didn't really talk much and when he did it was only a few words. So I imagine him being a quiet and yet trusted friend of the other three. In every friendship there is a quiet person, Peter is that person when concerning the Mauraders.

PhiloNysh: I think this chapter has good description in it, in fact I am quite proud of this chapter.

PadfootandProngs91: Of course Sirius s going to get caught eventually. He is Sirius! He always tends to mess everything up! Though I love him dearly LoL!

sapphire039: thanks!

lillyrose1: thanks, speaking of rereading I really should redo my beginnning chapters...just to correct things and make them a little better quality

Shuichi66: thanks!

Windowseat Wonderer: Remus, he is a complex one. You never know what he true motives are. But all I can say is that it is the quiet ones you have to watch out for...take Peter for example.

Cecilia DevilAngel: thanks!

dancinguyn: I know, not much of a Lily and James fic without those two. But this chapter and the next chapter are all Lily and JAmes, since that is what I should really be writing about. But I like Cora, she is the character I think a lot of people can relate to at one time or another. She also proves the point that Lily and James did not live in a perfect world.

firefur1: Remus...he is smart. He finds ways for everything! hehe!


	24. Meet the Parents

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"I could look and try to find someone  
Who won't leave me lonely  
But then I found I didn't need to search  
Cause you were the one and you came to me."  
-Security: Stacie Orrico_

**Chapter 24: Meet the Parents**

Lily's heart pounded against her chest at an impossible rate as her parents' headlights lit up her living room window. Explaining to her parents why a boy they didn't know was going to stay the night in their house was easier said then done. She had to make sure they knew the pair was just friends and not a couple, as her parents were sure to think. Besides, they weren't going out anyway…were they?

Lily shook her head, now was not the time to think about her and James' relationship. Any moment her parents would walk in the front door and find Lily with a strange boy in the living room. She had to think fast.

"James," Lily said, turning and pushing him into a dark, inconspicuous corner, "I'll explain the rules later, when I have more time. For now, just stay out of sight until I signal that it's okay for you to come out."

James nodded yes, not knowing how else to answer her.

Lily stood right in front of the door as her parents walked in.

"Hello Lily, what are you doing down here? I thought you would be in bed already. Was it hard to fall asleep with the storm?" Lily's mother asked.

"Yes," Lily said. Her mother still treated her as if she were a child. It was only eleven o'clock, much too early for a seventeen-year-old girl to fall asleep, even though Lily understood that because she was the youngest child, her mother didn't want her to grow up.

Lily tried not to act suspicious as her parents' hung up their soaked coats, but she was horrible at hiding anything from them…especially something like James. Her jittery behavior soon caught the eye of her father.

"Anything wrong honey?" he asked. Of her two parents, it was her fathers reaction to James she was worried most about. He was the typical father figure, except much more strict, at least in Lily's opinion. Although he didn't seem overprotective of his two girls, he showed his true colors when Vernon asked to marry her sister, Petunia. The two if them were alone in a room for over an hour; but to the rest of the family, the wait was needed. Her father went into the room detesting Vernon, and came out hugging him as if he were a son. Lily had never seen her father change opinions so quickly. Although she tried, Lily never did find out what Vernon said to her father. All he would say was, 'I worked my Dursley magic,' and grin that stupid grin of his. Lily never cared for the man, but, of course, she didn't care for her sister that much either. So, Lily had expected her to pick a husband that would be as horrible as she.

"Nothing," Lily said, a little too quickly.

Her father leaned down and put his hand on her shoulder. He brought his face down so that his was level with hers, "You know you can always tell me anything."

"I know," Lily said, her eyes moving to the floor since she couldn't bear to look into her father's face. She was trying to think of the right words to say to them. If she let anything slip about James' troublemaking status in school or about their 'dates' they certainly wouldn't be pleased with her.

"Umm…" Lily said, causing her parents to look at her intently. "When you were gone, we had a visitor."

"What do you mean a visitor?" Lily's mother asked, stepping closer to her.

"Not anyone bad, just someone from school. …They…got locked out of their house, and you don't know…them," Lily said, careful not to say 'him' or they might start asking questions. Her parents always picked up the smallest hints. Lily figured that was where she got her intelligence from.

"Who is it?" Lily's mother asked curiously.

Lily turned and motioned for James to come out of the corner.

He stepped slowly into the light. James had been listening to their conversation with the ears of a true marauder. He could tell from the tone of their voices that they were strict parents. He thought he knew now why Lily did so well in school and barely did anything out of line; she would have to answer to them. That thought alone caused James to quiver with fear as he stepped forward to face her parents. He wasn't sure why he was so afraid. To think, James Potter, afraid of meeting someone's parents! Maybe it was the fact that he still had feelings for Lily and wanted to make a good impression. It wasn't like he wanted to marry her or anything. He was only 17; he figured he wouldn't start thinking about marriage until he was at least 23. Stepping in front of the Evans', he swallowed his fear and faced them.

Mr. Evans took a step back when James came forward. He had expected Kyra or Cora to come out laughing at him and his wife for believing such a trick. His face darkened slightly. He had never thought it would be a boy.

Seeing that her husband was lost for words, Mrs. Evans spoke up, "So you're the unlucky one who got locked out during this rain."

James nodded his head before sticking out his hand and saying, "James Potter, pleased to meet you both."

Mrs. Evans took his hand first, "Amelia Evans."

"William Evans."

"James, dear," Mrs. Evans said, breaking the tense silence in the group, "why don't I get some tea and we can get to know you better."

"Sure," James said, doing his best to sound excited as Mr. Evans' eyes bored into him, rendering him motionless.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans traveled to another room that James assumed to be the kitchen to make some tea. James looked at Lily and saw that her worried face mirrored his. He didn't want to say something stupid and make a bad first impression, especially with William Evans. One false move would be certain death.

Lily spoke anxiously, breaking his train of thought, "Don't tell them anything about what happened between us. Don't eat or drink anything until my father does. Let me do most of the talking, I know what they want to-"

"Here we are," Mrs. Evans said, coming into the room with a serving dish hastily piled with tea and snacks.

Lily and James sat together on the couch; Mr. Evans sat in his chair, and Mrs. Evans took the rocking chair.

"So, James, I've never heard Lily talking about you before, but I think I'm right in guessing that you're in the same year?"

"Yes mum," Lily cut in, "in fact, James is head boy. That's how we became friends. We've spent so much time together this year because of all our head duties that we couldn't not be friends."

"That's wonderful," Mrs. Evans said, "congratulations. Your parents must be so proud of you."

James swallowed hard, "Yes."

Lily, seeing where the conversation was headed, changed the subject, "James is a captain of the Quidditch team at school."

"You mean that game you play on brooms? How nice. Isn't that nice Will? Not only is James a brilliant student, but he is also is gifted in sports. Seems like out Lily has quite the catch."

Mr. Evans coughed and Lily quickly corrected her mother, "James and I aren't seeing each other mum, we're just friends."

"Oh, my mistake," Mrs. Evans said, putting her fingertips to her mouth.

"Tell me James," Mr. Evans said, shifting in his chair, "what do your parents do?"

"They-" Lily said, but was cut off.

"Lily, I think you have answered enough, let the boy speak," Mr. Evans interrupted. Lily shut her mouth and looked down at her fingers nervously.

"They…" James paused, debating if the truth was safe now. "They were aurors." Seeing the confused looks on the Evans' faces he continued, "Aurors are similar to m-your police," he almost said muggle, a term that would probably cause even more confusion, "They tracked down and captured dark witches and wizards and put them into Azkaban. That's the wizard prison."

"Fascinating, is your family all wizards and witches?" Mrs. Evans asked, looking highly interested.

"As far as I can trace back, yes." James said, smiling slightly.

"Then you must come for dinner one night, you and your parents. Lily has told us some about the wizarding world, but I bet you and your family know all there is to know."

James started to open his mouth when Lily interrupted, "I'm sure they would love to, but James tells me that their schedules are very tight so I don't know when we would be able to get together."

"Oh," said Mrs. Evans.

"How did you get locked out of your house? Since you're a wizard and all, couldn't you just use magic?" Mr. Evans asked.

"William, that question is…" Mrs. Evans trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"My parents have a security system set up that won't let anyone in or around the border of the house. They activated it this morning when they went to work. They must be working late tonight. I guess maybe they thought it was going to be a slow night and that they would be home in time to let me inside. I normally would have waited in the backyard, but with it raining this hard, I would get soaked, and your daughter is the only one of my friends that lives anywhere near me."

"Well, of course you are welcomed to stay. I would hate to see anyone outside in this weather." Mrs. Evans said sympathetically.

Lily watched James' as he talked about his parents. He showed very little emotion. Lily knew he hadn't gotten over his parents death completely, but he still looked so strong sitting on her couch talking about what they used to do. She knew she would not have been able to talk about her parents for a long time if it had been they who had died. As Lily watched him she wondered how much it must hurt him to talk about his parents. Maybe she should have told her parents that his had been killed recently, even if she didn't want to worry them that much about being safe at school. Her parents knew that Cora had lost her family during the last school year, but Lily had told them that it was just an accident. Cora had agreed in order to help Lily convince her parents that Hogwarts was a safe place. She knew she would have to tell her parents about the dangers of the wizarding world when she graduated, but now she didn't want to worry them. They were happy thinking Lily was safe at school.

"Yes," Mr. Evans said, sounding as if he was forcing the words as he stood up, "we have an extra room upstairs, I will show you to it."

"Oh, no Dad, it's ok, I'm going to head to bed anyway," Lily said, faking a yawn so she and James could escape. "James, why don't you come with me? I can show you the room you'll be sleeping in."

James looked to Mr. and Mrs. Evans for approval. Mrs. Evans nodded her head and James rose to follow Lily up the stairs.

When they reached the landing Lily glanced back and whispered quietly, "I'm so sorry about my parents third degree."

"It's alright," James said, walking behind her.

Lily turned back to him and said, "No. I should have told them about your parents. They asked you all those questions and I know you aren't fully over them yet and…" She stopped and ran her hand through her hair, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really. Actually your parents making me talk about them helped. I know that I can talk about them now without getting upset, and that reminds me how much stronger I am. Remind me to thank them later," James smirked.

Lily laughed a little as she led them down the hall, "James, you are beyond me."

"This is your room," Lily announced, indicating to the open door in front of him. He glanced inside. The room had light blue walls and a white bedspread. An off-white dresser stood opposite the bed next to a beanbag chair that matched the walls. "I know it's a bit plain, my mother said the person who stays in it should design it the way they want to with their own decorations."

James stepped in, looked around the room and turned to Lily, "Is your room the one next door?"

Lily shook her head, "No, that was my sisters room before she moved out. At least you don't have to sleep there. The entire room is covered in pink. Pink lamps, pink bed sheets, pink walls, and anything else you can think of is…pink."

James laughed.

"Don't worry, my room is green," Lily said, leading James to her room down the hall. "The bathroom is the room to the left of yours, and the other one is downstairs, along with my parents' room."

They went in Lily's room, which was light green. She had a Gryffindor banner on the wall over her bed, which had light green bed sheets. She had a white dresser and beanbag chair.

"Why is your room green?" James asked.

Lily pointed at the beanbag chair "Actually, that used to be silver, but I had to get a new one after I found out those were Slytherin colors… To tell the truth, before I found out about the reputations of the houses, I wanted to be in Slytherin because they had my favorite colors."

"Well I guess I can't blame you if you always liked those colors…" James said with a half-laugh. They fell silent, listening to Lily's parents talking loudly downstairs.

"You better go to your room and go to sleep. I don't think my parents buy the notion of us being 'just friends'. I'll wake you up tomorrow for breakfast and another discussion with my parents. Plus, my dad will be wondering why he's missing a shirt. We should be ready for that."

"Alright," James said, stepping out of her room. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

"Goodnight James."

"G'night Lily," James said, as Lily closed her door.

James yawned as he walked back to his room. When she'd closed her door , it hit him that he was tired. He guessed part of it was the long flight over to her house. Her house, he was actually in Lily Evans' house. A year ago he'd dreamed about what it would be like to be here. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, not realizing that he would awake a few hours later to a menacing nightmare.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update but school is crazy with homework. When I am not doing homework I was with my friends because three of their birthdays were in September. Also, now if I don't have a lot of homework I am so tired that I don't have any inspiration left for writing, which sucks! Anyway, sorry for the wait. I will try, now that I know my work load, to try and get one chapter out a month, since I start the play soon and I will barely have time for anything while that is going on. But come December I have a week or so off for Christmas so I can write more then. Thank you to everyone who is sticking with this story even now that I don't update very much!

I have a beta reader now. Double kudos for evansentranced! I don't want to put her real name incase they don't want there name out there, but YOU ARE THE BEST!

Kudos for all those who reviewed and were patient with my update!

Lilyrose1

PhiloNysh: thanks for the 10/10. I am not sure how good chapters are going to be with school but I will try to keep up with my description and everything

Canadian Star

Synthiacat: thank you, that makes me very happy that you are here until the end.

Sapphire039: I thought James' entrance fits him very well…

Truth: wait for the next chapter...Petunia comes to visit

lilynjamesAAF

WoW-Girl

caitlin

Ashley Potter13

Windowseat Wonderer

firefur1:

padfootedmoony: Yes Sirius is an ass, but he is a very sexy ass. :giggles:

strawberryshortcake23


	25. Releasing the Hounds

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own anything you don't recognize.

_"No man's knowledge can go beyond his experience."  
-John Locke_

* * *

**Chapter 25: Releasing the Hounds**

_"James!" Gabrielle screamed from across the room._

_James sat up at his sister's voice and stared in her direction. When he saw her, her hair a mess and her face distraught, James jumped out of bed and hugged his sister. Although James was two years younger, she needed him in her current state._

_"We have to get out of here," Gabrielle said, her breathing short and ragged._

_"What happened?" James asked. He fell silent as rhythmic stomps announced someone climbing the stairs to his bedroom._

_"They're coming," she whispered, standing up and pulling James to his feet._

_"Gabby," James asked, his voice shaking as the footsteps neared the top of the stairs, "who's coming?"_

_"I'm not sure, but I know they aren't good," Gabrielle said._

_The footsteps paused; the intruder had now reached the landing. Gabrielle paused as she thought of a plan to escape the trespassers. She knew what they were, but dared not tell her brother. She didn't have time to explain what these heartless creatures were capable of. Hidden under their long black robes, the mere thought of one made an unnaturally cold sweat fall down her back. Gabrielle was in charge with her parents out for the night, and it was her responsibility to take care of James. As the footsteps neared his door, Gabrielle could think of nothing but protecting her little brother._

_"Get in here," Gabrielle said, grabbing the back of James' shirt and pulling him through a trapdoor under the rug._

_"Gabby, what are you doing?" James asked anxiously, his voice trembling from the look of terror on his sister's face. _

_"Every room in this house has a secret place. I want you to stay here no matter what happens. Promise me," Gabrielle said, tears flowing down her face, "you won't leave this spot no matter what."_

_"But what about you Gabby?"__ James asked, fighting the tears forming in his eyes._

_The footsteps paused outside the room; they both knew there wasn't much time._

_"Promise me James," she said, closing the door over James' head._

_"I promise," James whispered as the door to his room burst open with a bang. James wished he was with his sister, but all he could do was sit helplessly as Gabrielle confronted the beings in their house._

_"Hello Ms. Potter, and where is that darling brother of yours?" a man's deep voice demanded, his footsteps crossing directly over where James sat hidden._

_"Even if I knew, I certainly wouldn't tell you," Gabrielle said, her tears concealed by her courageous spirit._

_"Fine, don't aid us, prolong his death if you like, but mark my words Potter, your family won't survive this war, no matter what you may be guarding. Take her!" the man shouted suddenly, and a large black-cloaked creature glided to Gabrielle and lowered its hood._

_As Gabrielle's scream pierced the eerie silence of the room, James pounded on the door above him yelling, "No! Don't hurt her!" but his voice was choked through the tears that flowed down his cheeks. _

_The event seemed hours long, although only a few minutes had passed since it began. When his sisters screaming ceased, he knew she was gone. He reached for the exit above him, but his last promise to his sister stopped him in his tracks. It was her final wish, and he was not going to take that away from her. _

_The man above lingered. "They're not dead, but regret is more powerful than eternal sleep."_

* * *

James woke up in a cold sweat.

Lily tossed and turned, tomorrow's confrontation between James and her parents was a weight on her shoulders she wished she didn't have. Her father had been soft tonight, perhaps because he was tired, and Lily knew he would be harder on James in the morning. She hoped James was ready for the fight. Lily knew she should have done a better job preparing James for her father's wrath, but there was so much to do in such little time. Why did he have to come to her house anyway? He should have just stayed at school, and then none of this would have happened. Why did she overreact when she found him in her house? Maybe it had something to do with James' and Cora's parents being murdered. Yes, that was probably it. So she was afraid. Being the only witch in the household made her nervous not only because she felt alone in the fight against a murderer from her world, but also that Voldemort was targeting muggles and muggleborns. But that statement wasn't true, James' and Cora's parents were pureblood. With that barrier down, no one was presumed safe from this man's wrath, not that he was worthy of a title such as man. He was a bloodthirsty beast who killed for sport rather than with any purpose.

A sound from outside her room shook Lily from her thoughts. She glanced at the clock, four in the morning. She couldn't believe she had been struggling through this internal debate all night. She felt a little tired, but the stresses of life were denying her any sleep.

Someone left the bathroom. She wondered who, and would soon find out, they were heading for her bedroom. As Lily stared out into the hallway visible from her room, James stepped into view.

"I though I heard you moving around in here," he said, leaning in her doorway with his hands in his pajama pockets.

"I couldn't sleep," Lily said, staring at her hands, fingering the comforter on her bed. "How 'bout you?"

Not wanting to say he had been awakened by a nightmare, he causally answered,

"Same."

"My parents are more than likely asleep, you can come in," she said, motioning for him to sit on her bed. "My dad won't be up until six, so we have some time to talk. I wanted to talk to you about him anyway."

"I think I can handle your dad, I have him figured out," he said with an uncertain smile, perching on the foot of her bed.

Lily laughed.

"Your lack of confidence in that statement fills me with assurance."

"Fine," James said, raising his hands with a small pout, "don't have faith in me."

"It's not that I don't have faith James, it's that my father is a very tricky person. You think you know him one minute and then he goes and changes again. It confuses people."

"Well, I guess your father has never dealt with a marauder before," James said, the cockiness in his voice becoming quite distinguishable as he drew himself up proudly, "I've been in worse scrapes. Trust me," he put his hand on his chest, "I know what I'm doing. After all, he can't be worse than McGonagall."

"You are so cocky sometimes," Lily said with a smile, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You love that though." he said, cupping her chin in his hand.

"Shut up James," she said, swatting at him, "I am seriously worried about tomorrow."

Yes, it was true; she was worried about how her father would treat James, and what her parents thought of him. For some reason, she wanted them to like him, wanted their approval. This meeting could go either way, and she wanted to go well. Last night was too close to be declared a victory, and tomorrow she knew her father would fight back. He was not a man to give up easily, stubborn until company was around. Outside the family he was the sweetest, most compassionate and understanding soul in the neighborhood. It was clear only to those who knew him that this was a façade.

Lily's silence bothered James; he knew what she was thinking about. Although he did not show it, he was nervous. It secretly mattered, although he could give no explanation as to why, that they liked him. He had inkling that her mother liked him a bit, but her father was a different story. He tried hard to remember everything that was said about him during their concise meeting. He had to remember that in this house his parents were alive. Although he wasn't sure why Lily had said this, he was sure she had a good enough reason to support her actions. She never did anything without reason; this time was probably no different. Later on, if his and Lily's 'friendship' continued, they would think of some way to tell them about his parents. Right now that did not matter; the only thing that did matter was pleasing her parents.

"It'll be okay, we just have to remember what we said and stick with the same story," James said, with a smile.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell them," Lily said, looking at her feet. She was still feeling guilty about that; it was her fault they had to remember anything.

"I told you before not to worry about it," James said, a tint of anger in his voice.

Lily glanced quickly at James and then back at her feet. Now she was annoying him by bringing it up again, she felt she couldn't do anything right anymore. But her stress was forgotten when an owl flew into her room and landed at her feet.

"Daily Prophet is early this morning," James said, looking at the clock, it was only 5:30.

"Odd," Lily mused, paying the owl and opening the prophet. He was right the owl was early today; it never came before six. Something important must have happened for the paper to have been sent out this early. This curiosity caused Lily to unfold the paper and glance at the front page.

The headline caught her eye and her brain stopped working.

**_Azkaban_****_ Left Empty_**

The picture below showed empty hallways of the wizard prison with a blurb under it that said, "Dementors gone from Azkaban for what seems like last time."

Lily's face was slowly drained of color as she read the caption. Lily did not know much about dementors, but what she did know scared her. They were evil creatures and anyone that came near them was stripped of every happy memory they had, until all they were left with was the pain. To keep these creatures under control, the ministry employed them as the "gatekeepers" of Azkaban. There they would be able to feed off the happy memories of the cruelest criminals in the wizarding world. To have dementors freely roaming the world could cause mass mayhem. But who had the power or motive to release these evil beings? Lily could only think of one person…Voldemort. But what would happen to those in prison at Azkaban? Without the dementors to control them, escape would be simple. Soon the ministry would have dementors and convicted criminals on the loose.

James watched Lily's eyes widen in shock as she read the front page. As his curiosity got the better of him, James took the paper and looked for what was so horrifying. He never expected those three words.

"It was bound to happen," James said, although he still did not want to believe it.

"What?" Lily asked, coming out of her comatose state.

"My parents said during the summer that the ministry was loosing control over them," he looked into her eyes. "They didn't know how long Voldemort had been in contact with the dementors, but now it seems his coaxing worked."

"I realize these creatures are bad, but all they can bring is sadness, insanity if they are left with one person too long…they aren't killing anyone, they don't have that power."

James looked at her with a look of puzzlement. How could she, the brightest girl at Hogwarts, not know what happened to those who came in contact with a dementor? He suddenly understood - she was a muggleborn.

"They can't kill, but they can do something much worse," James explained, remembering his dream.

"But I thought-"

James put up his hand, "Just let me finish."

Lily closed her mouth and sat back at his words. He seemed to be struggling with what he was about to say; she saw it best not to interrupt him.

"A dementor's main attack is its feeding off of the joy in a person's life, but if someone gets too close, a dementor can give that someone a kiss. The dementor's kiss is the worst way to die, although you aren't really dead after the fact. The kiss sucks out the soul, leaving you in a sort of catatonic state. You can't feel or do anything a normal human can, you're just there. In ministry executions, after the dementor's kiss the person is killed immediately, but with Voldemort in charge, people could be left soulless for days."

Outside Lily's room, the floorboards creaked, but the two ignored it.

Lily's hand was over her mouth, she had no idea this could happen. "Your parents told you this?"

James looked at Lily, tears forming in his eyes, "Explained is more like it."

It was obvious something about dementors affected him personally.

"What happened?" Lily asked cautiously, not wanting him to get angry with her for asking.

"About eight years ago, my sister was given the dementor's kiss." James spoke with a heavy heart, his eyes filled with emotion Lily had never seen there before. She had seen him upset, like when his parents died, but when he spoke of his sister, she sensed something besides sadness. She did not know what, but something else was there

It felt odd seeing James like this. In school he was always a carefree guy, the kind you thought knew nothing but joy and sports. Now Lily knew appearances could be deceiving. She was glad she learned this about James; it gave her hope for others she thought were lost causes, hope that under their stolid nature, there was a feeling person. Most girls don't like a guy who is too emotional, but they also don't like when a guy acts emotionless; girls like to have a conversation with a guy and get an honest answer back. What most girls look for is a guy who fits both categories. Someone who knows when to be tough and when to be emotional; it would take a smart and able man to perfect this art and Lily thought that James had done just that. He was the rare gem that all girls look for and yet Lily would have skipped right over him if she had not taken a closer look at him. She remembered the old muggle saying, "You can't judge a book by it's' cover." Lily now knew how true that saying was.

"How old was she?" Lily asked sadly, coming out of her train of thought.

"Eleven, I was nine at the time. It was the summer before she was going to enter Hogwarts," James said, his eyes on the floor.

He hated acting like this. If there was one thing he could never talk about without coming to tears, it was his sister's death. Even now, the thought of his parents' death did not weigh as heavily on his heart. He could not help but feel responsible for Gabrielle's death. He had just hidden and let her die; maybe if he had come out of the hiding place they would both be alive today, but he would never know. He had loved his sister more than life itself, he would have gladly given up his life for her.

Ever since that moment James vowed that he would protect the ones he loved to the death. Because of his sister's death, he had never feared what happened when you died. He knew there had to be an afterlife. Gabrielle was too good of a person to die and not have her soul go on somewhere else. In times of great stress he would imagine what his sister was doing at that very moment. Was she watching him or was she having fun with other children on the other side? He wondered, when he died, would he meet his eleven-year-old sister, or did she age where she was? He thought about Gabrielle a lot when he was younger, but as time past he thought about her less and less. But when his parents died, he became depressed again thinking about her death. It was his fault, he had always known it was. No matter what anyone else said, it was his fault she was dead. Although he wished with all his might, nothing could bring her back. Nothing could save her from the aftermath of the dementor's kiss. Nothing could change the way his parents had not spoken with him for a month after her death, the way his mother could not even look at him.

"I'm sorry," Lily said, looking at her hands in her lap.

"It's alright. It's been eight years, I'm over it by now," James said.

Lily knew he was lying. Anyone could tell that he was still feeling for the death of his sister. Maybe it was because she died prematurely. She was not supposed to die at eleven; she was supposed to die long after his parents had been laid to rest. People say the hardest thing for a parent to do is to bury a child. But what about siblings that have to bury siblings at a young age, what do those children think? Do they wonder if the same thing will happen to them? Lily could not even comprehend what James or his parents after could feel that tragedy let alone what her death did to the family. Did it cause them to separate emotionally? Lily had so many questions she wanted to ask, but decided against it. It wasn't her business. If James wanted to tell her, he would. It was his secret to tell, not hers to pry out.

"But I don't understand," Lily said, thinking back to when the war began and how only recently the dementors had been in contact with Voldemort. "How could she have been attacked when Voldemort wasn't even around?"

James shook his head, "He was around, just not out in public. At that point he was building his army so that when he came out to the world he would already be set to fight a war. The year before my sister was killed, three dementors left their guard at the Azkaban prison. Whether they were captured by him or went on their own free will, I don't know, but I am guessing that one of those three killed my sister."

An unwelcome knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

It was Petunia, "Breakfast is ready," she said, looking a bit shaken up. Had she heard everything they had said? After she said her part she left in a hurry, creaking on the top stair as she left for the kitchen.

Lily looked at the time, "It's eight o'clock. Have we really been talking that long?" She asked, looking at James who did not meet her eyes. "Even though you probably don't want to come to breakfast, I suggest you do. My father won't think much of you if you don't show up. But if you don't feel up to it, I'll tell them you're sick."

James was silent for a few moments before he spoke.

"I'll come. No sense being dwelling on the past, life must go on," he said, getting off her bed and heading for his room. Lily followed him to the door.

"Your sister would have wanted it that way," Lily said with a smile, closing the door behind him.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, but mine and my beta's e-mails apparently hate each other becasue e-mails are getting through. This one isn't betad, but once I get it I will repost this chapter as being that one. But since the idea's aren't going to change, I am sure you all can skip one or two grammatical mistakes right?

IT IS NOW BETA-D!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

**Important! **I am changing the idea of James and Lily having their own Head dorm. I now don't like that idea, but they will have a head common room so they can plan events, etc, that only the Head's should know. So if anything important happened in the dorm, just think about it happening in either the Gryffindor common room or in their common rooom. Also, I am editing all of my chapters and adding more detail, no need to reread anything, since the story line is still the same, just the story Quality is better.

Thank you all for being patient with me and REVIEWING!

PadfootandProngs91: I don't really like Stacie Orrico either, but the song fit. Yeah, the parents will know the truth eventually...

Cecilia DevilAngel

Synthiacat: Here is your very late birthday gift.

sapphire039

firefur1

Windowseat Wonderer: Thank you!

padfootedmoony

Ashley Potter13

easilyamused987

Truth: Yes, the next chapter will be...interesting

Alyssa

Jade The Frisky Vampire: Yes, I like Cora being a side story to this because it makes life seem more real. She adds the darker side of life to the story, since Lily and James, no matter how they are portrayed are basiclly living a fairy tale, except they die in the end.

strawberryshortcake23: You have the same name, that is weird.

lilypad007: I shall work on that for you. Sorry if this chapter has those, but I will see what I can do with the next chapter.

hope I spelled all the screennames right, don't kill me if they are!


	26. The Christmas Eve Massacre

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Friends are God's way of apologizing for our families."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 26: The Christmas Eve Massacre**

That morning held the most uneventful yet eventful breakfast the Evans house had seen in years. Although the number of people dining that morning had been upped to six, the table was unusually quiet. Yet, the silence did not mean neither party was communicating, for actions can speak louder than words. To begin with, the eldest, Mr. Evans kept an ever-vigilant eye on James, only looking away if James looked his way. Mrs. Evans, although she had tried to start a conversation between the crowd she was entertaining at her home, soon gave up and let the silence take over. Soon, she found the act of moving her food from one side of her plate to the other quite interesting. Mr. Dursley, Lily's brother-in-law, his face filled with a confidence and arrogance paralleled only by James at the end of his sixth year, seemed to be glad that Mr. Evans was no longer on his back for dating the Evans' eldest daughter. He was glad to be already part of this family, and ecstatic that there was no longer the need to impress when he stepped foot in his wife's home. Yet he felt no pity for this new comer to the Evans' household, he was not a man to show remorse for another, especially not a younger and less qualified man than he.

The former eldest Ms. Evans, who was now Mrs. Dursley, kept her eye mostly on her sister, although her curious mannerisms kept her from keeping her eye on one person for a long period of time. She had always been known to be the person most likely to hear conversations she was not meant to hear, for she made prying into other people's business part of her everyday life. So, with her eyes wide and her ears perked, she kept her mouth shut, hoping to hear even the slightest whisper from any party at the table.

James, the outsider of the group, felt as if he was causing this awkward silence among, what otherwise seemed to be, a talkative family. Although something inside of him urged him to speak, he dared not; he did not wish to endure any more questions from Lily's father. He knew he was going to have to answer more this morning, and this meant he had to live in a world that was far from reality. It was world where his parents were still living and he simply locked out of his home. He looked around the table, giving each of its occupants the same amount of eye contact as the next, except for Lily, he expected her to signal him as to what to do next, especially about her father, whose stare he could feel piercing into the back of his head every time he looked away.

Then there was the youngest of the motley crew, Lily Evans. She hated this silence more than anything. She despised the fact that she could no longer control what went on inside the minds of the mute souls in the room around her. She often would help her mother in her efforts, in the beginning, to start a conversation amongst the group, but all efforts ended in failure. Lily longed for something to interrupt the stillness, but all that came was the song of the morning bird that lived in the tree in her backyard. Although it was winter, that one bird was always present and could be heard every morning singing its beautiful song. But today, its song was not welcome in Evans home. They only longed for silence, and silence was what they got.

Once breakfast was over, the three women helped clear the table, but still no words were spoken, except James' 'thank you' to Mrs. Evans for the wonderful meal and her reply of 'you're welcome.' After the dishes had been the cleared, Mr. and Mrs. Evans moved into the living room to have their morning tea and to watch the news. The newly married couple decided to go for a walk around the block to stretch their legs and get out of the house, as it was a rare warm December day, while the youngest two felt obligated to head outside across the street to the park where Lily had spend most of her youth. Lily claimed a spot on the swings for the two of them and there they sat, until Lily broke the silence that had plagued the atmosphere since breakfast.

"I'm sorry about the silence. We usually are a talkative bunch, I don't know why my father is so quiet, it's probably another one of his tests."

"What is he testing this time," James said, using his feet to dig a little hole in the dirt at the bottom of the swing.

"Patience, seeing how long it takes you to crack under pressure," Lily said, following James' lead with the hole digging.

"I guess I have more patience than I thought," James said, a slight smile crossing his face.

"That's good," Lily said, unsure of what else to say.

A few moments passed. James dug his hole a little deeper and Lily watched as her sister and brother-in-law bypassed the street on which the Evans' house was located. She was glad they had passed it; it meant Lily did not have to enter the house for a while yet. Lily did not feel it was right to stay outside while the rest of the family sat together inside, and it was against her nature to be isolated from her family and friends for too long.

"I have to leave soon," James said, looking up from his hole and gazing at Lily.

"When do you have to leave?" Lily asked.

"Around lunch time. I have to be back by tomorrow morning and I would rather travel in daylight then by moonlight," James said.

"What is tomorrow?" Lily asked, her mind slipping from reality for a few moments as they talked.

James laughed, "Christmas."

"Right," Lily said laughing at herself for forgetting the holiday, "Sorry, I'm a bit out of it this morning."

"I can see that," James said, getting off of this swing, "you all right?"

Lily just looked at James standing in front of her. How could she tell him all that was on her mind? Half the thoughts running through her mind were about him, the other half were spilt between her father and Cora. It was obvious to James as to why the first two things on her mind would bother her, but he mostly likely would not guess the last. She hoped that Cora had gotten home all right; although she trusted Remus to make sure that her brother picked her up safely. What bothered her most, though, was the question of why her friend had been so quiet since Halloween. Of course, part of it was because of Sirius and Kyra, but that could not be all. There had to be more to this girl then she was letting the world know. Remus was on to her, she could tell from the amount of questioning about Cora he had recently subjected her to. Maybe he secretly liked her, something Lily thought would be the best thing for him and her. They seemed to be so alike, they would easily get along and it would take Cora's mind off of Sirius, something she desperately needed.

"You okay?" James asked again, more concerned this time because she did not answer him the first time.

"I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind," Lily said.

"I could have guessed that from the way you've been acting all morning," James said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know I'm not being any fun, but for some reason this year has been filled with more teen angst then I can handle."

"I understand," James said, putting out his hand for Lily to take in order to help her off the swing.

Lily took his hand and upon standing up she let go saying, "My father is probably watching and if we told him we aren't a couple he will do anything to prove we are, and in turn prove you to be a liar."

"I can't win with him can I," James sighed, as the two walked slowly toward her house.

"If we do become a couple and we stay together for a long time, I'm sure he will grow to love you as he loves my sister's husband Vernon," Lily said, and then quickly spoke up again saying, "I think it would be better if you left now rather than after lunch. I don't know if I can deal with another silent meal with my family. I almost cracked during this last one, and I would hate to see you go through another one of those meals."

"I can handle silence, but I'll leave if you want me to, whatever makes you more comfortable," James said, as they stopped across the street from her house.

Lily simply smiled at him, "I think after this experience, we've both grown up a bit, don't you think?"

"I think we were always grown up inside Lily, we just never let it out until it was needed," James said, as they reached her house.

"You two have fun?" Mrs. Evans called from the living room.

"Yeah, but James has to go now, his parents should be home by now and they'll get worried if he gets home too late," Lily said as she entered the room.

"Oh, pity, are you sure you can't stay for lunch deary?" Mrs. Evans asked, truly seeming like she did not want to see him go.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want my parents to worry and seeing that they don't have a phone I can't call them to tell them I am here," James said, as sincerely as he could.

"Oh, all right dear, but you make sure you come over one day for lunch," Mrs. Evans said, coming up to James and hugging him.

Mr. Evans just gave James a slight nod, which James responded back to in the same way.

James did not know if this nod was a good remark or a negative one, but he figured that little acknowledgement was better than none, and the reaction that Lily gave him seemed as if she thought the same thing.

"Well, I'll go and get James' stuff and then I'll be back," Lily said, walking James out of the room and up the stairs.

Lily and James quickly packed his things in a small bag, which he could wear on his back for easy traveling purposes.

"Well, you be careful on the ride back. Don't do anything foolish or else I will make sure you hear it from me when I get back to school," Lily said, with a hint of fear in her voice. She did not want anything to happen to him on his way back. With Voldemort and Death Eaters crawling all over the place, the last thing she needed was another tragedy during this all ready stressful time in her life.

"I'll be fine. But in return for my safe trip, you have to think of your decision, don't forget about that," James said, with a smile.

"I won't," Lily said, as she hugged him before he put on his invisibility cloak and soared into the sky; she could tell because the window had flown open in front of her and she could heard his feet push off from her floor. She continued to stare out the window, as if scanning the skies for him, although she knew she could not see him under the cloak. She then closed the window and went back downstairs to greet her sister and brother-in-law, as they had just entered the house from their walk. The tension was still in the household, as it always was when Petunia came back for a visit, but at least now, James did not add to it nor did he have to deal with it.

* * *

Later that night, Cora and her brother Alex were sitting at the table in silence. Cora had made dinner since her brother had worked hard all day and would not have been home in time to make anything. It was not a big dinner, but neither felt like eating much, for it was the first Christmas they would have alone. Normally, their mother would spend the day making the best food, for she always pulled out all her tricks on Christmas and their dad would be getting a tree with the youngest son Trent. Although Cora's parents were magical, they preferred doing many things the muggle way. Maybe that was why they were killed, they were too interested in the other way of life, a way of life the Dark side greatly shunned and thought as a cursed lifestyle.

A lone owl flew into the kitchen and landed on Cora's plate.

"What's that?" Alex said, pointing his fork in her direction.

"Dunno," she said, taking the letter from the owl as it flew away into the night.

Cora looked at her brother, he nodded, meaning for her to open it, and so she followed suit. She had thought this letter would bring good tidings, but it would only bring more suffering to her heart. It read:

_Join us or he dies._

"What's it-" Alex said but he was but off as their door was blasted from its hinges.

Both shot up from their chairs and made their way into the living room, which lead to the door.

Cora made to get in front of her brother, she hoped that they would not kill him if she was in front of him, but her brother quickly moved ahead of her saying, "No, you stay behind me, I don't need you getting hurt."

Although her brother was trying to be brave, she knew there was a sense of panic in his voice.

"Alex, please don't go over there. Let's just runaway before they get inside," Cora said, trying to hold on to her brother's arm to pull him away.

"Let go Cora," he said, as he pulled her into view of the five black-cloaked demons in their home.

* * *

It was late and Sirius would have gotten in trouble for being out of his common room had it not been winter break. Of course, if it was not break, he would have been more stealthy in this late night walks. The truth was, he was walking to the top of the astronomy tower because James would be arriving soon. It had been Sirius joking idea that James should go and surprise Lily at her house, but he did not actually think James would go through with it. Not that he could blame him, he would gladly go out on that adventure and he even asked James if he could tag along at first, but James said no each time he asked. But, even if he could not have been there as James surprised Lily, he would hear all about it from the horses mouth just the same. Yet the pitter-pattering of footsteps walking toward him soon shattered Sirius' happiness. Since he was near the Headmaster's office at the time, he figured these people were heading in that direction, so he hid in a corner out of the straight path to the office.

"Another attack? Where?" Sirius heard McGonagall say.

"Not sure on the exact location, but it was near one of the Aurors home, it has been attacked before," Dumbledore said.

"Loss of life?"

"Many."

"Oh Albus," McGonagall said, as the two walked into Dumbledore's office.

An attack on the night before Christmas? Now Sirius knew these Death Eaters truly had no hearts. Killing the night before a holiday was beyond the workings of a normal person's mind. Then a thought came into his mind, what is James was attacked during his fly by? He knew James was planning on flying over mainly wizard populations so that, in case someone saw him, he would not have to explain why there was a boy with a broom in the air. Sirius hoped that James had been smart enough to get out of the way of any danger while he was illegally out of school, though if it had been himself he would have jumped to the opportunity to get into a fight. Maybe that was why James had told him to stay at Hogwarts instead of going with him, or it could have just been the fact that if both were MIA, it would have been more suspicious.

Shaking off the idea that he might have to leave the school to make sure James was all right, Sirius speed walked the rest of the way to the astronomy tower. Luckily, he found James there taking off his invisibility cloak. He just smiled at his best friend before he opened his mouth.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost, Padfoot," James said, laughing.

"It's nothing, its just that there was another attack," Sirius said, as the two left the tower.

"Where?" James asked worriedly.

"Not sure, but somewhere near an Aurors house, so I am guessing a wizarding neighborhood. A lot of people were killed I believe," Sirius said, ditching his goofball behavior for one of the rare times in his life.

"This is going to be a quiet Christmas," James said.

"I don't think we should go ahead with the prank we planned until everyone gets back to the school," Sirius said.

"Padfoot, you're actually disagreeing with a prank?" James asked, a slight smile on his face.

"No," Sirius said getting back to his normal self, "I just think everyone will need a good laugh."

"I agree Padfoot, I fully agree."

* * *

A/N: If you are reading this, you are truly a dedicated fan. I know this was a boring chapter, but I do have the next one all ready written, so give it about a week or so (so my beta can read through it) and it should be ready to be updated. Kudos for my beta for sticking with me all this time! And thanks for anyone who is reading this and who reviewed last time! And don't forget that James and Lily no longer have a separate dorm, but a Heads common room (I believe I changed it in all my chapters because I gave up on fully editing it because it would have taken too long especially if I have to change some things after the 6th book comes out, but I'll try to fit everything in from the 6th book and what not).

Synthiacat

Alicelongbottom: I'll try to put more.

melody-dance

sapphire039: yeah I am trying to be more descriptive and I like my newer chapters rather than older ones

firefur1

lilypad007


	27. Christmas Tidings

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Being happy does not mean everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 27: Christmas** **Tidings**

Sirius and James woke up the next morning in pure bliss; the remembrance of the attacks was forgotten for the brief moment because Christmas had finally come. As the two got up and saw the presents next to their bedsides, all thoughts of negativity were lost in the fleeting moments early that morning. In fact, to those not touched by the last major attack by the dark side, this morning was the only peace from the horror of the killings and tortures going on in the outside world. So, with their hearts filled with every amount of youth-born energy the two boys still had, they began to open their gifts.

James torn open his gifts at, what he believed was a quicker pace, but it could have been that his gifts were less in number. Yet, at this point, James had completely forgotten that he would not receive a present from his parents. Although he would soon realize this as the gifts began to reach their end, at this moment, he was feeling a mix of ecstasy and bewilderment, for he had just opened his gift from Lily, which was a small box with strange markings on it. He stared at this box, flipping the small thing from side to side and upside down trying to figure it out.

Sirius, seeing his perplexed face asked, "What's that?"

"I don't know, something from Lily," James said putting it down.

"Let me see," Sirius said, reaching for the box. Yet as his fingers grazed the box, a small electronic shock traveled through his hand, "Ouch."

"What happened?" James asked, looking up from the gift from Remus he was currently opening.

"It shocked me," Sirius said in a childish manner while holding his electrocuted hand.

James just laughed and shook his head at Sirius' actions, "Only Lily would send something I can't understand and that hurts anyone who touches it."

After all the presents had been opened, the two boys sat in silence, each remembering that instead of being in a warm loving home this Christmas, they were forced to stay at school for the holidays. Although they missed the large dinner the whole family would share, the wrapping paper fights everyone would participate in, and the lighting of the large tree in the center of the Potter's living room, the thing the two would miss most of all was the sense of unity that occurred every Christmas when everyone was gathered under one roof. And even though Sirius was not a true member of the Potter family, he had been unofficially adopted into this environment ever since he was thirteen and no Potter gathering was the same without his mischievous smiling face.

The two boys shared a glance, and although their memories of the late Potters brought them much pain, neither of them spoke about it nor did a single tear graze their cheeks. No words were needed as the two best friends embraced each other in a brotherly hug, for both knew why this show of affection was needed at this moment. When they let go, Sirius let a small smile flicker on her face; an act James would follow suit soon after. Both boys knew they had the right to cry or be left along if they needed it, but neither felt the urge to take advantage of the situation. At this time, the thing they needed most was each other, for it was the only real family either of them had left.

Seeing that they could sit and let their thoughts run deeper into their minds for hours, Sirius spoke up, "You want to head down for breakfast?"

"Sure," James said after a short pause.

He had been considering in his mind to keep to himself for the day, but that would mean two things for his best friend. Sirius would either grow bored of his situation and start causing mayhem around the school or, the most likely outcome, was that he would mope around the school the entire day being pulled down by the same forces James himself was fighting against. James figured that since the boys both had the same demons to fight today, they might as well battle together, for two is always better than one.

* * *

Lily awoke the next morning to the sun shinning down onto her bed. At this annoyance, she sat up in bed and looked out her window to where the garden would have been, had it been summer; Lily and her father had named it their Eden when she was younger. It was a tradition between the two that every year in the spring they would decide what plants would be planted for the summer and, once the weather was right, they would plant everything together. But once Lily had gotten her letter, it became harder for her and her father to plant the seeds together. Although Lily and him would still stay in contact to decide what was going to be planted that year, the job of actually doing the manual labor was left to her father, for by the time Lily would arrive home from school, it would be too late to plant the seedlings. Oh how Lily longed for just one more summer to prepare and plant with her father. It seemed nowadays that she was spending less time with her family, especially her father, and their gardening days were just one of the things she had ceased to continue doing with her family.

But today, Lily was not going to think about that. Today, Lily was a normal teenage girl who was looking forward to a fun filled day with her family. It did not matter how long it had been since she had actually spent time with her immediate relatives, all that mattered was that she was here now. It was better for her to live for today and get a good day in with her parents, then to spend the day sulking for the times she had missed out on because if she did that, it would be another wasted day on her list.

So, without another thought of the past, Lily got out of bed, picked up her wand and… Her wand, it reminded her of the one person she wished she could have been near on this joyous holiday, although to him it was probably far from that. James, he would be alone on this day with only the memory of his family. It was true he was with Sirius, but he was hurting almost as much as James, and two like that may be good for each other for a sometimes but after a while they will need a break from each other, at that moment, who would comfort them? Lily thought again about James and how he had visited her yesterday, she did hope he made it back all right. She smiled to herself; there was no sense worrying about things she did not yet know the outcome of. Besides, no news was good news, and she would have heard something from Sirius if he had not returned last night. At this thought, Lily put her wand into her drawer and walked downstairs to greet her all ready awakened parents.

Lily could see from the look of things downstairs that her sister still had not arrived yet for breakfast with her husband. She smiled at this, the longer her and her sister were not together in a confined place, such as a house, the less likely there would be fighting between them. Although the two tried to get along with their parents around, sometimes the tension between them sparked during the worst moments. Like last year during a surprise birthday party for Petunia the two erupted into one the largest fights ever witnessed by their parents and all of their other family members. Petunia and her fiancé Vernon, although no one else knew that the two were planning to marry, had just recently planned a date when they were going to tie the knot. Unfortunately, since most relatives of the Evans thought the relationship between Vernon and Petunia was close to ending, he was not invited to the party. Once Petunia found out, the immediate blame in her mind was placed on Lily and although she was able to keep her tongue under wraps for most of the time, after one of their aunts asked her if she had dumped Vernon yet, she exploded. Since Lily was right next to the aunt that was speaking, the two went right at it, blaming each other for everything that was going wrong before and at the party. It was a messy day filled with cleanups, explanations, and cover-ups. Neither of the girls wanted a repeat after that day; neither did their parents.

"Good morning Lily," her mother said, "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas mom," Lily said, and then turning toward her dad, "dad."

But her father's face was not the happy one she expected to see on a morning such as this. Although he could be a completely miserable man any normal day of the week, holidays usually brought out a happier side of her father. She predicted to see this part of him this morning, but she had not expected to see her father looking more depressed than usual.

"What's wrong," Lily said to her father, as her eyes moved from both of her parents.

"Your sister," he began to say, as if it were her own fault for what ever was going on, "Petunia, has decided to not join us this year for Christmas."

"Why?" Lily asked, knowing that even if she was kind of happy that she would not be attending, she knew it would break her parents hearts.

"She told us that since they spent last Christmas here, they owed it to his parents to spend Christmas with them this year," her father said with a heavy heart.

"Oh," Lily said, almost as heavy as her father. Yes, it was true that she hated her sister, but he hated more to see her parents hurt on their favorite holiday because, according to her father, 'now that the girls were older, it was the only holiday he could get everyone under one roof.'

"Well Lily, let's not dwell on such things," her mother said, trying to act as if nothing was wrong, "Open your gifts."

"Yeah," Lily said, less excited to open her gifts now that she heard that her sister would not be coming for breakfast. Even though she hated her, tradition and the unity of their family had been broken.

* * *

The boys arrived at the Great Hall surprised to see that all four tables were set up, instead of the usual one or two Dumbledore had set up because of the lack of students. Not to say the rest of the hall was not decorated, but this one aspect showed the boys that not everything was right inside and outside of Hogwarts.

"Maybe he is busy with something," James said, as the two boys took a seat near the front of the Gryffindor table.

"Or someone," Sirius said, lightening the mood as always.

"Gross," James said, trying to get the mental image out of his head, "You had to say that right before we ate didn't you?"

"Yup," Sirius said with a smile.

James just shook his head at Sirius' comment. No matter how somber or grim the mood was, you could always count on him to say just the right thing to help bring the gravity of the situation down to a more manageable level.

The boys had just begun to dig into their morning meal, when Sirius spoke up on something in the hall that had gone unnoticed before.

"What is she doing here?" Sirius asked in a volume just over a whisper, pointing to a girl sitting at the opposite side of the table they were sitting at. James knew her by the name Cora, the girl he had given a mini-talk to the day Lily was frantic over whether Cora and Kyra would ever talk to each other again.

"I thought she went home for the holiday?" James asked, looking in the same direction Sirius was pointing too.

"Maybe," Sirius said, turning back to James, "maybe after her family heard about the attack last night, they sent her here to keep her safe."

"That's actually a good thought Padfoot. You must have had to really thing of that one." James said, trying to say his statement with a straight face.

Sirius just threw a piece of butter at him for his remark before saying, "Shut up."

"If you wanted to start a food fight, you should have done it when everyone was in school," James said, picking the butter off his shirt and started buttering his toast with the butter Sirius had just threw at him.

"Great idea, lets do it the day everyone comes back, just to lighten the mood in this drafty castle," Sirius said accompanied by his mischievous smile.

"You better watch who you smile like that around, a teacher may think we are up to something," James said, although not caring in the least if a teacher knew what they were planning.

"But we are contriving something Prongs," Sirius said, smiling even wider than before.

"All right then, its agreed. The night everyone comes back-"

"We start a food fight."

"Yes," the boys said together, giving each other a high five over the table fully aware that the few teachers at the table ahead of them were sharing worried glances.

"I'll write Moony about the idea and you write Wormtail," James said, after a few minutes of silence where the two boys just simply enjoyed their meals.

"Oh-tay," Sirius said with a mouthful of food, "With the four of us, we're bound to start a good fight with the whole school involved."

* * *

Christmas had come and gone and Lily soon found herself trying to fall asleep after, ironically to her, was the worst Christmas she had ever participated in. Without Petunia around to bother her and start fights with, it seemed Christmas was not really Christmas. The three, Lily and her parents, had had their normal Christmas dinner, but the dinner was doomed for failure as soon as it started. No one spoke as they ate their food, except for the occasional asking for food or drink that was out of reach for the speaker. But worst of all, they did not go for their Christmas walk, which they have been taking since Lily could remember. Every year the four Evans would walk through the park across from their home. Sometimes they spoke of things that were on their minds, but as the girls grew older, the group would simply walk in silence, enjoying the scene of winter. This year, as the snow began to fall, Lily's father had said that the roads were too slippery to tread on this evening, but Lily could tell that he did not want to take the trip without the fourth member of the crew. Lily and her mother complied, but anyone could tell that each of the three were regretting not going for the walk after each went to bed at an early hour.

Lily frowned to herself because of her selfish behavior. Here she was, spending Christmas with her family, and there were others in the world spending Christmas without family; Cora, Sirius (since the Potters were his only real family), and James. James, Lily thought again as she played with his gift with her finger tips. He had given her a silver necklace with a horse pendant at the end. It was a simple gift, but to Lily it reminded her of the horse she had seen the night her friends and the marauders had ditched the ball. That night, it did not matter how horrible the world outside was or how strong the Dark Lord was, all that was important was having a good time. But something else happened that night, when she was alone with James, that Lily did not plan to tell anyone, not even James himself. As the two starred at the white Arabian, Lily took a few moments to gaze into James' eyes as he looked at the horse. His eyes were no longer hidden with the hurt from loosing his parents, for after they had died no matter how happy he was he always had a speck of sadness in his eyes. That night, he looked truly happy and for Lily, as long as he was happy, she was happy.

Lily let the necklace go from her grasp. She vowed that night that she would never take the chain off. Even if her and James had a spat or if she learned to hate him again with the hatred she once had for him, she would always wear it. It would serve as a constant reminder of that night. No matter how far apart they separated over time, no matter how much distance was placed between themselves after school, she wanted to forever remember James as she had seen him that night. Happy, carefree, youthful, and loving, that was how he should be remembered in everyone's mind. Not the arrogant person he was last year, but the real person he was on that night. James might not always be perfect, but Lily would learn to over look that. For no matter how egotistical James would get, Lily always knew there was side of him that was filled with the best qualities. And even if she could not see him like that during some time in the future, even if there was little hope at all that that part of James actually existed, all Lily had to do was stroke the horse around her neck and she would remember.

With that thought, Lily put a permanent sticking charm on the clasp of the necklace. So even if she went into one of her fits of rage, she could never truly forget all the good qualities James had hidden deep inside of him. She would never forget him that night; she was not going to let herself do that. He had shown her a side of him Lily believed he did not show a lot of people. She should be privileged to see that part of him, and with that privilege came responsibility. A responsibility she was willing to return to him now and forever.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to take so long, I meant to have this chapter out before the 6th Harry Potter book came out, but as you all can see that didn't happen. I am about halfway done with the next chapter, which is much more exciting (HINT: the Marauders get pissed), and the one after that (HINT: Cora goes crazy at Sirius) is even better. I am going to try and finish it by Thursday (since I am leaving Friday) and send it to my beta. But I haven't heard from her in a few weeks, so I am posting this without it being beta-ed. If I don't here from her by Thursday night I will update my story myself, but if I do here from her it will be up about a week from Friday.

Again, sorry this one is so boring!

Kudos for everyone who reviewed and has stuck with me through my time of no posting!

Windowseat Wonderer: Nice to here from you again as a reader!

PadfootandProngs91: I'm glad I could make you see in the eyes of a character, I guess I am getting better as describing characters

lilypad007: I'm trying to update as soon as possible!

SoWon'tYouKillMe: I love Cora too, after Remus I think she is my favorite


	28. Three's A Crowd

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"There is no disguise which can for long conceal love where it exits or simulate it where it does not exist."  
-Francois, Duc de la Rochefourcould_

**Chapter 28: Three's A Crowd**

Lily was a bit nervous as she boarded the Hogwarts train with only one of her friends, Kyra Walters. Although the reason for the missing friend was accounted for by an owl she had sent a few days after Christmas, Lily was still worried about her friend. This friend, whose names was Corinthia, known to her friends as Cora, had for some unexplained reason decided to go back to Hogwarts right after Christmas instead of waiting out the remaining of the holiday as the rest of the Hogwarts students were doing. Cora's owl post did not give any real explanation for her sudden change of plans, nor did it give as much information as Lily would have liked. Yet Lily believed that Kyra might have gotten a note similar to the one Lily had received; she only hoped that Kyra had received more information.

The two girls quickly found a compartment that was empty; they were early for the train, as they had planned to be. After placing their bags and trunks in the storage space in the room, they sat opposite each other in order to easily talk between themselves while giving the illusion of the whole compartment being full for they wanted privacy.

After a few moments of silence between the girls, Kyra spoke up, "Shouldn't we have waited for Cora on the platform?"

Lily stared at her friend in disbelief, could she have really forgotten about Cora going back to Hogwarts early? Kyra was known amongst many that she had been blessed at birth with a terrible memory, so it would not be astonishing if Kyra had forgotten this. But then again, Cora not being on the train back to school was not a frivolous event, which many of the happenings Kyra often forgot could be labeled as.

"Lily," Kyra said, waving her hand in front of her friend's face.

"Sorry," Lily said, coming out her thoughts, "But didn't you get the letter from Cora saying she wouldn't be on the train?"

Kyra's mouth dropped at Lily's words and a look of complete flabbergast came over her. "What?"

Lily half-laughed at the situation as she nodded her head. Although outside Lily appeared calm and collected about the circumstances, a few moments of worry came over her. Why had Cora not sent a letter to Kyra? At first, Lily thought Cora may still be distant from Kyra because of her current relationship with Sirius, but it was not in Cora's nature to hold a grudge for that long of a time. Yet Lily knew that Cora had been acting strangely since Sirius chose Kyra over her, but she knew there had to be more to this fight than Cora was letting her friends know. Lily promised herself that she would find out what was going on with her friend, no matter how deep and dirty she had to get.

"Yeah," Lily said, deciding that she would do her detective work on her own rather than involve the person who was probably the source of the start of Cora's independence. "Here," she continued, getting the letter out of her pocket and handing it to Kyra.

Kyra took the letter from Lily's hand, her mind still in a jumble. "Why didn't she just send me a letter herself," she said, as she began reading the letter.

"I dunno," Lily said almost in a whisper.

_Dear Lily,_

_First of all I would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and I do hope you like the gift I gave you as much as I enjoyed the gift you gave me. Though I haven't quite figured out the puzzle yet, I am sure I will get it soon and if I don't I trust you will be able to help me. _

_The other reason for my letter is that I must tell you something important. I have gone back to Hogwarts early, in fact you can probably tell I am all ready here because I am using a school owl. Please do not get worried as to why I am here or fret over the thought that this letter is a fraud. Feel free to send letters back to me if you wish to better ease your mind into believing I am here. The reason I am mainly saying this is so you don't look for me when you get on the train again in January. _

_Well I must go now_

_Your friend,_

_Cora _

_P.S. You may want to skip out on the evening feast on the day you get back. I heard Sirius and James plotting this morning something for that day, although I am unsure of what the exact details are. If we can meet somewhere else to eat I think that will be best. And Lily don't turn them in for doing something they haven't done yet. Besides, from the look of things I think the students are not the only ones who need a good laugh._

When Kyra had finished the letter, her jaw was still open but here eyes looked like they were someplace else. It was not the type of stare people had when they were staring at the scenery the train passed as they traveled by; it was a stare that came when the eyes were searching through their mind for answers. She held the letter in her hand, moving her thumbs up and down the page, although not taking here eyes off the invisible memory in her mind.

"What," Lily asked. It was not normal for Kyra to sit in voiceless thought. She was more of the friend who seemed to have trouble with her inner monologue, for she often thought out loud.

Kyra closed her eyes and shook her head with a smile. When she reopened them she said, "I can only guess one reason why she went back early."

"What?" Lily asked, getting more agitate because Kyra was not giving the answers quick enough for her,

"There was an attack on Christmas Eve in a wizarding neighborhood," Kyra took a pause for Lily to gasp, let the words sink in, and then come back to reality, "Two aurors were killed and a bunch of civilians too. They're still cleaning up the mess."

"How many were killed?" Lily said, not believing this could happen. She knew they were in a war, but what type of heartless person would order an attack on Christmas Eve?

"So far, 21 are dead and 4 injured, but they are finding more bodies everyday. They think the death count might reach 50," Kyra said, her usually gleeful glint missing in her eye.

Lily clasped her hands against her mouth as her eyes widened at Kyra's words. Twenty-one people were dead, with more bodies being found everyday. The destruction in the small area must have been monumental if, after about a week since the attack, it was still being cleaned up. Why did the world her and her friends were about to enter have to involve so much death and devastation? In only a few months they would have to leave behind their trivial teen problems and reluctantly welcome the maladies of the world. They would soon be a part of the system designed to take down the Dark Lord and his followers. Would they succeed? Would they fail?

"I know," Kyra said in a whisper.

* * *

As the students arrived in Hogwarts Lily noticed that some children were not as happy as others. The attack still fresh in her mind, Lily believed that these poor souls had to deal with the massacre first hand. Yet, it was doubtful that they had seen the attack, for all who saw what happened were either killed or so severely injured that they were just beginning to talk about the ordeal, at least that was the news according to Kyra. But what did this attack have to do with Cora? If Kyra was right, then could fear alone force Alex to send his younger sister back to school about a week early? Lily was not sure, but she would not rest until she found out the answers. 

Lily and Kyra entered their school going the opposite way of the other students; they decided to follow Cora's advice and not go into the Great Hall for the feast. On the way to the common room, they met Cora in front of a fruit basket painting.

"I figured you guys would heed my warning about the Marauders," Cora said, calmly.

Although the cool manners in Cora's appearance, words, and actions, could easily fool any other person in the school, for her two best friends it was going to take more than a friendly gesture to wipe the questions from there minds.

"What did you come back early?" Lily and Kyra asked together looking at Cora, before looking back at themselves smiling.

"You heard about the attacks I'd wager," Cora said darkly.

"Yeah," Lily said, her mood becoming almost as dark as Cora.

Cora offered a smile before she opened her mouth and spoke the words she had been rehearsing in her mind since she had arrived at Hogwarts, "Nothing to fret about, I just don't like thinking about the whole incident." Her smile faded a bit, "It just makes me think of when my parents were killed. But no worries, Alex just reckoned I should come back to school. I am all he has and he doesn't want anything to happen to me."

Kyra slowly walked up to her friend, not sure of what to think. It was almost unethical for someone to come back to school early, although she had no doubt that in this time of war that Dumbldore would have no problem with someone coming back into the safety of Hogwarts before time. Yet, Kyra could not figure out Cora's or Alex's logic in all of this. In this time of fear, why would the two sacrifice time together? If Alex were to die, wouldn't either of them want to spend their last moments together? Not that Kyra wanted her best friend dead but, Kyra thought again, she guessed this sacrifice was made out of the deepest love a brother could have for his younger sister. Kyra finally started to understand this decision. The selfish choice would have been to keep both siblings home, but love torn them apart. Kyra now had a new respect for Alex. She before saw him as a man who only thought of himself, but now he was willing to sacrifice himself for his sister.

Meanwhile, Cora was continuing on, "Since the attack was near by, he didn't want to risk loosing another member of our family to him."

Lily, who looked like she had been battling the same thoughts in her mind as Kyra, spoke the words Kyra was trying to will herself to speak, "Are you sure that is all that happened?"

Cora slowly smiled and answered back sweetly, "I'm positive."

"Good," Lily said, slapping her hands together and rubbing them against themselves, "Let's eat shall we."

"Marauder style," Kyra said, tickling the pear and opening the door.

* * *

Sirius shared a quick glance and smile with James as the feast of the night had officially started. It was planned that James and Sirius would start fighting amongst themselves, so that others would get the idea of what was expected if they were hit by any food. Then, Sirius, since he was always more eager of the two to get other people involved in publics fight, would hit the student of the Slytherin table as James would duck under the table. With the mix of jealous wanting eyes from others wanting to join the fight and the insurmountable tension that all ready existed between the two rivals, a fight would start without a doubt. 

But, as Sirius was about to hit James with the first bit of food, he was distracted by a splat heard a few seats down from him. It was not clear to many people what had happened at first, but once the Gryffindor boy felt the back of his head and felt essence of potato on his skin, he immediately turned around to the Slytherin table and threw his pumpkin juice at the boy who as snickering the loudest. The laughing boy stifled his mocking laughter and threw more food at the boy. With that last action, half of the Gryffindor table yelled started throwing food back at the boy; in the midst of that mayhem, a boy from Ravenclaw yelled, "Food Fight."

Had this been any normal day, the Marauders would have welcomed the fight, but today was not a normal day. Their attempt at lightening the mood in Hogwarts has been thwarted. What made matters worse, was that each boy would later claim that they had heard Dumbledore mutter to Slughorn to go easy on the students when it came to punishment. It appeared that he was not the only one glad to see that happiness still ran through the school like a never ending river. If they had started the fight, they would have gotten off with only one detention each, or better, but the 'filthy Slytherins' had to ruin there fun and steal their idea. Although neither at the time knew how their rivals had found out their scheme, each knew inside themselves that they had stolen it and crowned it as their own. It was a stunt that would not be tolerated by any other house, for it would mean to scoop lower the initial person who envisioned the wrong doing, but for a member of the house that fell under the colors of green and silver, it was a normal act. Disgusted and filled with greater hate for their enemies, the Marauders left the table and headed for the kitchens to eat in peace; they were sure the gazes of the thefts followed them as they departed.

None of the boys spoke for the first few moment of the journey to the kitchens, but it was only a matter of time before one of the exploded. Sirius, who seemed to be the most pissed at the moment, was walking in front, pacing from one end of the corridor to the other. Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, he walked up to the wall on the right and threw his left fist against the wall. Although the force of the punch probably hurt Sirius greatly, he did not flinch; it was as if the pain was cooling him down.

"Watch where you are throwing that!" a person from the portrait nearest Sirius' hand yelled back at him, he was nearly hit by the punch.

"Fuck off," Sirius said, throwing his weight off the wall with his fist and running the rest of the way down the hall.

James stopped as he watched his best friend run angrily in front of him. If he had not been so pissed off himself, he more than likely would have chased after him. But he knew that if he followed him, the two would just get into a fight and be angry at each other. James knew, from experience, that there were only two ways to calm Sirius down; being alone in a padded room so he could not hurt himself or having a good snog. Hopefully Sirius would find Kyra or Ariel to let out his temper on, or else he would invite Remus and Peter into the Head's common room. It would be a stunt Lily would not appreciate, but it was better than being ripped apart in the middle of the night by a ranting Sirius.

"We have to get them back for this," Remus said, which partially shocked James and Peter because Remus was usually the reluctant marauder.

"If you say so, then they more than deserve something," James said with a brief smile to his face, but it faded as he said the next words, "Fucking Slytherins."

The three then ran in the direction towards the kitchen on the warm ground that Sirius had patted his feat against only a few moments before.

* * *

"…So he started laughing so hard that orange soda came rushing out…" but Cora stopped her story of her last good memory of her brother, not that any of her friends knew he was dead, because they were interrupted by the most unexpected though most expected person to come rushing into the room. 

She had decided, as she took the trip to Hogwarts on Christmas Day, to not inform her friends about the murder of her brother. She did want to feel the pity they would surely give her after having all of her family killed by the same mass murderer. Cora had all ready decided that she had taken up enough of her friends' time the last time tragedy had struck her family. Although, she would be lying to herself if she were saying she did not want some time with her friends without their boyfriends hanging around, she just did not want to spend that time in remorse. Since Cora was all ready used to pretending to be something she was not, she believed she had the strength to get through the death of her beloved brother on her own. She knew it was unhealthy to keep everything inside, but it was better than to have her friends worrying about her every minute of the day. They were entitled to have a final year at Hogwarts that was filled with joy, happiness, and love. There was enough fear and death happening in the outside world, there was no need for those types of things to start occurring in the only place most people believed they were safe. It was out of the same love that Alex was filled with when he sacrificed himself for her, something she would never forgive herself for doing. So many times since she had declined the letter from the Dark Lord, she wondered whether his death threats were serious. She knew he was a mass murder who would never give any killings a second glance, but she could not bring herself to believe that lightening would strike twice…she was wrong to doubt him.

"What the fuck are you three doing here?" Sirius yelled, as his three friends followed in, just as shocked as he.

"What are we doing here," Kyra snapped back, "What are you doing here? Aren't you guys supposed to be doing some stunt?"

"How did you know?" James called back, his temper rising with the thought that a fellow Gryffindor foiled one of their plans.

"Cora over heard you two talking at breakfast one day," Lily spoke up from behind her two friends, "She didn't know what you guys were planning, but she warned us that we may not want to eat there."

"How do you know about his place?" Sirius asked, his anger growing in his voice.

"Just because you coined the term 'marauders,' doesn't mean no one else in this school knows a secret passage here and there," Kyra said, using her great ability to draw in the rage from a situation and make it part of her.

"Great! Everywhere we go tonight, people are beating us to it," Sirius yelled, throwing his hands up in defeat, "I've got to get out of here."

The group watched as a fuming Sirius ran from the room; no one dared follow his lead. But, as if signaled by his departure from the room, James moved toward the quietest girl in the room. He walked toward her in a very stern and proud manner; the others in the room could easily tell he was trying to intimidate her. He stopped his strut when his toes were only about an inch or two from touching hers.

"You didn't know what we were planning?" James asked the girl in front of him with her head down.

"No," she said before she lifted up her head to look at him, "and even if I did I wouldn't tell anyone except those two."

James just gazed back at Cora's eyes, whose kept shifting under his strong gaze. She knew he was searching for any weakness in the chains of her story, but since she knew she did not lie about anything she had just said, she did not fear him at this moment. Yet, she could not stand to look him straight in the eye, her confidence at the moment did not allow her to do so. On a good night she might have been able to stand up to him and stare back, and it would have been easier because she was not trying to hide anything. But tonight, fighting the urge to burst into tears by lying to her friends about her brother, she no longer had any strength left to put up a fight.

"I guess your telling the truth," James said, ruffling up her hair with his hand as if he were shaking off her mistake as a parent might do to a child.

Cora looked back up at him and smiled slightly, as he went off into a corner and told an eager house elf his food order.

"I guess one of us should go and find him," Remus said as their conversation reached Sirius once again; since it seemed that James had nothing more to say about the situation and he wanted to be alone.

"I'll go. He might hit one of you if one of you guys go," Kyra said breaking from the crowd, "but in all my years of knowing Sirius, he has never hit a girl."

"You mean the thought of having a hate shag isn't part of your reasoning?" Peter said, to which Remus, Lily, and Cora busted out into laughter.

"Shut up," Kyra said, her cheeks turning a shade of pink before leaving the room.

"Nice one Pete," Lily said, giving him a high five.

"Thanks," he answered back with confidence.

The trio sat in silence for a while, before Remus' eyes moved toward the lone boy in the corner of the room. Although Remus, himself, was gaining back his composure rather quickly since he thought the idea of a food fight was more of a spur of the moment idea, rather than a planned event. But then again, Remus was only disappointed when their pranks went wrong; so a large reaction from him was no expected from either of two masterminds. The only real time Remus had ever got emotional when a prank went wrong was when he was unaware of being in a prank. He could remember how he felt that day, betrayed, taken advantage of, and many other emotions he did not want to feel again. He thanked James mentally everyday that he had been there to keep Sirius from getting expelled from Hogwarts and Snape getting critically injured, not that he liked the man, but he did not wish being a werewolf or death on his worst enemies.

The emotions of that day started to take over him, and Remus politely excused himself from the room. Peter quickly followed; his need to be around one of his close friends at the moment was great. Had James been in a better mood, he would have stayed in the room, but since Kyra had spoken earlier of Sirius hitting one of them, he figured James might have been in the same mood. Taking what he believed was the best choice of the situation; he took to sticking with the logical Remus rather than the sometimes-illogical leaders.

"I guess I'll go too," Cora said, not liking the feeling of being forced in between Lily and James; a couple that most people knew needed as much time alone to realize that they were just what each other were looking for.

Lily walked up to James as he walked over to the table to eat the food the house elf had just given him. She did not say a word as she sat down and he aggressively took a bite of his sandwich. She could tell it was not the right time to interrupt his meal, she would only succeed in getting into an argument with him; something both would regret in the morning. Lily knew in circumstances like this, you just had to let the person open up to you and vent. For the ordinary person, venting would so the trick, but then again, James was far from average.

"Are you going to leave with the rest," James scoffed.

"I wasn't planning on it," Lily tried to say with an attitude, but failed miserably when a smile spread across her face.

"Think this is funny do you?" James asked, throwing down his food and drawing the attention of the nearby house elves. "Think it's funny that our idea was stolen by some dirty Slytherins. You think that it's funny that we haven't pulled a prank on anyone for almost a month! People are starting to think the marauders are dead because we haven't been as active as you used to be! Do really find that so hysterical that you have to sit here and pretty much mock me for your own amusement."

"Now James,' Lily said, a stern look on her face from being criticized by the boy in front of her, "I may be guilty of a lot of things, but I am not mocking you are at this moment."

"They why were you laughing?" James asked, becoming more childish by the minute.

"I was laughing because of the current situation we are in now. You, the great James Potter, as you are known by around the school, acting more like a first year than a seventh year because some stunt not even worthy to be called a prank was stolen by someone else. No James let me finish," Lily said, as James was about to interrupt her, "Image what others would say if they saw you in this position? Is this really the James Potter you want everyone to see?"

James was fuming with anger from the words coming out of Lily's mouth. She had not spoken to him like this in a while, and if his mood had been lighter he may have let his cockiness taken him over and play along with her accusations, but at this moment in time, he was in no mood for games.

"Now you listen here Lily. You have no idea what it is like to have your genius idea stolen from you. How would you like it if someone stole your homework right before class?"

"That is completely different James," Lily said, throwing her hands on the table in disgust to his horrible metaphor. "Homework will help you in the long run, while pranks and jokes will only get you in trouble. And don't give me this 'genius idea' shit, a food fight. Come on James, I could have come up with a better idea than that."

James just stayed quiet as she pierced her green orbs into his chest. He could feel her gaze upon him, and for that reason he chose to find his shoes to be very interesting at the moment. He knew she was right, that was nothing new, but the worst part about it was that she knew she was right. Lily was a girl who knew she was smart and clever, no one needed to add fuel to an all ready burning fire; but he had done just that.

"I win," Lily said, crossing her arms and legs in her seat at the opposite end of the table from James.

"Don't rub it in," James mumbled back after a few moments of silence.

It was then Lily took her hand and moved it out of its current position, and placed it in the middle of the table on James' hand. He looked up at her when she did this, a look of shock on his face. At this moment he completely forgot about the incident in the Great Hall and the argument he had just had with Lily; all he wanted to know was the answer to the age-old question he had been asking Lily since fifth year.

"I've done some thinking over the break," Lily said, not breaking eye contact with him.

"And…" he asked, egging her on to speak the possible words he had been waiting to officially here for so long.

"Well, why don't you ask me and I'll tell you?" Lily said, cocking her head to the side.

James looked at her for a moment, scanning her a bit. It was then that he noticed the chain around her neck that looked familiar to him. Although he could not see the pendant on the end, he knew it was the necklace he had given her for Christmas. It was a simple gift, and he knew he could have done better, but he felt it would have more sentimental value to her than if he were to spend more money on something he was not even sure she would like. With Lily, who ranged greatly in her likes and dislikes, he felt better not taking a chance, although he was still anxious over whether she would like it or not. Seeing it around her neck have him the knowledge that she had liked the gift and it aided in giving him confidence that the answer to the question he was going to ask was going to be in his favor.

James smiled once more and said in a more serious voice than the thousands of other times he had spoke to her the same words, "Will you, officially, go out with me?"

Lily put her index finger to her chin and made a face with her mouth to make it look like she was contemplating the question in her mind. When she was done with those antics, she gave him a smile and answered, "yes."

* * *

Kyra ran around checking all the usual spots for Sirius. She knew she had to find him fast or else he might hurt someone or himself without fully realizing what he was doing. Sirius could be the life of a party and not have a care in the world, but when it came to pranks and jokes, he could not be more serious; it was perhaps the only time his name fit his personality. 

Kyra had finished checking the normal places and she was just about to search the other end of the castle when she heard his voice coming from inside an old classroom. But it did not sound as if there was any sadness in his voice, in fact it sounded as if he was completely enjoying himself. Kyra's eyes scrunched at the sounds of another voice, for she could not figure out whom it belonged to. Walking slowly toward the door, she cautiously put her hand on the doorknob; she was not sure if she wanted to know what was going on behind it, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. She turned the knob gradually at a slow but steady pace. She worked it with very little noise and it did not appear to attract the attention of the people inside.

"Sirius," Kyra said in disbelief as she saw her boyfriend in the arms of Ariel Sayers.

Shock took over as she saw the two together. Although Sirius had been a player in the past, he had assured her that since he was finally getting the girl he had always wanted, he would end this part of his life. In fact, he would often talk about how James' change of heart had caused him to rethink par of his life. Kyra believed he was being sincere at this moment, but she knew now that he could never keep his hands on one girl for long. She could feel the anger growing inside her, but she was surprised to find that her resentment was not for Sirius. She blamed herself for her feelings she had when she found him, for she had probably fallen for the same trick he had told other girls he had been with. How could she have let herself be taken as a fool?

"I should have known you could never change," Kyra said, as tears threatened to fall down her face.

Sirius shrugged at her voice, "If you wanted it to last longer, you should have kept my attention more."

Kyra left as she heard Ariel laugh at these words, she did not want to cry in front of him.

* * *

A/N: I think this is one of my longest chapters yet, over 5,000 words. I think I own you guys a long one since I have been dishing out shorter chapters. I'm thinking of writing a one shot about why Sirius acts so crazy and stuff like that(as Remus said in the 3rd movie 'the madness within'). I thought of it a few nights ago and since I finished this chapter early I may write it. I don't know what it will be called yet, but when I write it I shall tell you all and you can read it if you like. I like the idea in my head; I think it will be a good one shot. Don't worry; I will probably work on that on the side for this story, because I would really like to finish this story before the 7th book comes out. I have to work fast, since I have no idea how many more chapters this will have.

I hope there aren't many mistake, I read through it, but it isn't beta-ed. Please don't ahte me too much because I am giving you all aquick long update!

Oh, and I have a question. JK Rowling said that in the new book were going to find out the jobs of Lily and James in this book. Did I just miss this information or did she not put it in? If anyone can any ideas about this can you leave the information in a review, I would greatly appreciate it. Maybe she just said something that was going to be found out in the 7th book, but I am still unsure.

PLEASE REVIEW! If you guys don't review I'll make Sirius do his puppy eyes again.

Kudos for everyone that reviewed!

PadfootandProngs91: Your so sweet and one of my favorite reviewers, I love hearing from you! Thanks alot for your review...I think it is the best I have ever gotten.

mizlovegood: With your comment about Sirius, don't worry, Cora will get a chance to get at him in the next chapter. Thanks for your reviews!

maraudersrock77


	29. Fallen Hero

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own anything you don't recognize.

_"Today I saw my hero fall apart.  
The one who taught me to be strong.  
On the outside I look fine,  
But in the inside I am dying.  
My strength is overcome by pain.  
My love for you remains the same.  
The loneliness is setting in.  
I have no one to free my sins."  
-"Do or Die:" Papa Roach_

**Chapter 29: Fallen Hero**

Cora sat alone in the Gryffindor dorm watching the clock next to her beside. Recently, she had often found herself staring at this inanimate object as if it were her only friend in the world. Her attraction to it had grown into an unhealthy obsession since she had arrived at Hogwarts after her brother's death. She would sit in front of the digital version of the normal twelve-faced demon and watch as her life passed her by. She knew in her heart her brother would not want her to waste her life in this way, but she no longer had the energy to continue on with her normal actions. With her parents and now brother gone to a place she could not reach them and her friends too busy to spend quality time with only the three of them, she no longer felt the same fire that once burned inside of her.

A crash suddenly caused Cora to come out of her thoughts and saw a sight she did not expect to see. Kyra hastily opened the door with her head down and then closed it, but she did not turn back from facing the door.

"Kyra," Cora said, as she saw her friend's shoulders shake slightly.

When Kyra did not answer, Cora slowly walked towards her friend. She was not sure what could be wrong with her friend; for the reasons for her actions could range dramatically. She reached her friend and cautiously put her hand on shoulder. At the touch, Kyra turned around to face the intruder to her thoughts and engulfed the person in her arms. Cora was caught by surprise at Kyra's sudden affection, but once the shock had worn off Cora returned the hug. The girls were not sure how long their embrace had lasted, but when they became aware of their surrounds they found they were both sitting on the side of Kyra's bed.

"What happened?" Cora asked, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Sirius is such an ass," Kyra said, wiping away her tears, "You're lucky you didn't go out with him."

"Why? What did he do?" Cora asked, letting all her other emotions go for the moment; it was more important for her to support her friend in this time of need that to be preoccupied with her selfish thoughts.

"Nothing that I shouldn't of seen coming," Kyra said, looking at her friend.

"You mean-"

"Yeah, he fucking cheated on me with that bloody slut Sayers," Kyra blurted out amongst the tears that threatened in her eyes, "I can't believe I am crying over him"

"Well he hurt you, and you wouldn't be human if you weren't a least a little upset," Cora said, acting more headstrong them normal, "And like you said, Sirius is an ass."

"I know, but I hate feeling like this over him. He told me it was different with me, but I should have known he was lying to me." Kyra said, saying words Cora knew would only make her feel worse.

"I'm sorry Kyra," Cora began, getting up from her seat, "I'm not a good person to talk to when boy stuff happens; this is Lily's category."

Kyra just listened to Cora as she tried to stop the tears from falling.

"Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone for a bit? I think it would be best if I find Lily, she will know what to do."

Kyra slightly nodded at Cora's words, it was the greatest motion she could suppress herself to do at the moment; she was wasting all of her energy on crying and yelling at herself. She knew Cora was trying to make her feel better, but when it came to guys Cora was far from an expert. It would seem strange that a girl that came from a home with four brothers would know nothing about guys in relationships; but that would usually describe her friend. However, it would not do her justice to say that she was completely incompetent in the department. She could easily tell her friends how a guy would react to certain statements or convince them that Valentine's Day was not as important to them so they may need to be reminded a few days before the event. She was the best person to turn to in those times, but because of her lack of relationships with the opposite sex, she failed terribly in the other instances.

Seeing that her friend would be all right for a few minutes as she looked for someone who could give her better comfort in the given situation, she walked out the door. She felt a bit of guilt leaving her friend because she knew that as the door closed, her friend would probably allow the tears she was holding back to fall.

Although Cora's mind was filled with varying thoughts, she found herself at the landing of the stairs with her feet frozen on the ground. In front of her eyes, with his hair unkempt and a sly smile on his face, was the cause for Kyra's misery. The arrogant pompous Sirius Black strutted into the common room with no look of remorse on his face. His gray eyes were bright with bliss; a fact that tore at Cora's heart. How could a person be so heartless as to not feel any emotion after such an unexpected realization? This Sirius seemed to be a totally different person from the one who had turned her down on that fateful Halloween night. Back then he was filled with a feeling and was surrounded by an aura that was kinder and more loving; almost the direct opposite of how he appeared today. Now, he gave off a very stolid impression, although the air around him looked confident.

Cora watched him act like this and immediately a knot in her stomach formed. She could not let him get away with his foul treatment of one of her best friend. Cora did not mind how much he mocked, pushed, and isolated her; but he was not getting away with messing with anyone else. Determined to catch him before he went upstairs for the night, she cut him off at the boys' staircase.

"I want to talk to you," Cora said quickly, with a strength she did not know she had.

"About what?" Sirius answered back, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You know what I am talking about," she said, throwing her head to the left to give him a signal to move out of the way of the staircase.

"Fine," Sirius said, moving to the spot Cora was motioning to, "but there is nothing to talk about."

"Oh yes there is," she said, "I can't believe what you did to her."

"She had it coming," he said, folding his arms across his chest.

"How can you say that about Kyra?" Cora said, hoping that her name would affect Sirius in some way; it did not. "She truly cared for you, and she said you would stop your fickle ways."

"That was the idea," Sirius said, scratching his head with his left hand in a nervous way, "but she never kept up her end of the deal."

"Her end of the deal Sirius," she said, throwing her arms in disbelief, "she was more loyal to you than anyone else she had dated."

"She didn't keep me occupied, and I told her that when we first started going out," he said, pointing his finger at Cora, "so don't put this whole blame on me."

"You're a like a child who needs to be entertained at every waking moment," she said, shaking her head, "You need a reality check so you can grow up."

"Who are you to talk to me like this," Sirius said, his temper starting to break the surface, "Kyra should be the one telling me these things, but you apparently have to fight her battles for her."

"I'm not fighting for her," Cora said, moving back toward the wall as Sirius started creeping up on her, "She is my friend, and that's what we do when one of us is in trouble."

"Well, you're not that good of a friend are you," he said, "A real friend would be helping her, not arguing with me."

"Hold your tongue Sirius," she said coldly, "Don't speak of things you know nothing about."

Sirius smirked at this, he had hit a sore spot, "I'll be going then."

"I'm not done with you," Cora said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to where he was. However, as she pulled him back he threw off her hand with such a force that she lost her balance and fell backwards. Her head hit the wall that was behind her and then fell on the ground. As she fell, she could have sworn there was a hint of worry that flashed across his face, but it was quickly gone when the common room door opened to reveal two people neither of the two were happy to see.

"Padfoot, what are you doing?" James said, seeing his best friend standing over Cora, who was on the floor with a look of pain on her face.

"I fell," Cora said from the floor, "He was just making sure I was okay."

Although Cora's excuse seemed plausible, Lily still ran to her friend to make sure she was all right and James sat wondering why Sirius was acting a little jittery. James knew his friend would never hit a girl, but the idea was still stuck in his mind because o the situation. He knew his friends had a temper, as he did himself, that could give him strength and cause him to be fiercer than he would mean to be. He could have easily tried to lightly push her out of the way, but instead forced her to the ground.

"Cora you're bleeding," Lily said, pulling her hand away from her friend's head, "Not bad, but you do have a scratch. We should get you to the hospital wing."

Cora sighed at Lily's words, "I guess."

"You guess Cora," Lily said, her motherly instincts getting the best of her, "Your head is bleeding, you are defiantly going down there."

"All right, I'm going mom," Cora said, getting off the floor.

"Are you sure you aren't dizzy or anything?"

"I'm fine Lily," Cora said, "I'll just go down to the hospital wing and then come right back."

"I'm going with you," Lily said, following her friend to the door.

"No, I can go alone," Cora said, turning around and facing her friend.

"But what if you-"

"Kyra needs you right now much more than I do," Cora said, her gaze shifting from Lily to Sirius.

Lily turned around to see what Cora was looking at, but could not catch what Cora might be hinting at. "What happened?"

"You'll find out," Cora said softly, "Just go to her."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Lily asked, getting a little closer to her friend.

Cora slightly laughed at her friend, "I'm sure."

Cora then turned sharply from Lily and walked quickly out the door. Although she would not have minded the company through to the dark corridors, she felt it would be a selfish choice with Kyra crying upstairs. Thinking of this, she took a quick glace toward the portrait of the fat lady to make sure Lily was not following her. A smile crossed her face as she saw the lady in the picture trying to fall back asleep after Cora had interrupted her; she knew she was alone. Being alone, it was one of the best and worst moments of her life. Sometimes, during the trying times of her life, she would give anything to be with any company; she would even take a few moments with a couple Slytherins. But, this was not one of those moments. She did not long at this time to meet anyone on her journey to Madam Pomfrey; she had had enough excitement for one day. She knew Sirius had not meant to physically hurt her, but it was not the marks on her skin that he left that were causing her the most pain. His words pierced her as a blade does to the skin and Cora knew, just like cuts on her arm, they would leave a scar.

Without realizing it, Cora had reached her destination in a relatively short amount of time. Cora reached her hand out to grab the doorknob, but quickly pulled her hand back. Surly by now the bleeding would have stopped or it would be clotted soon, so did she really need to go in there. Plus, if she had to spend the night, Pomfrey might see her scars, and that was the last thing she needed. Fear began to overwhelm her as she placed her left hand on her arm where most of her scars were. Of course, her long sleeve shirt covered them, but she was still paranoid of other people finding out.

With the thoughts of Sirius' words, the fear of her true self coming out, and her own mind blocking all reasonable feelings from entering her mind Cora jogged from the door of the hospital to much more desired location.

* * *

As the three seventh years watched Cora leave the common room, neither spoke for a few minutes. No one, except Sirius, knew all the facts of the situation, and conditions did not look good for him to start talking. 

"I'm going upstairs," Sirius said, giving way to any hopes of hearing the story straight from the horse's mouth.

Once he was out of ear shot, Lily sighed heavily and spoke, "I guess tonight didn't really go as planned."

"Not really," James said, shaking his head.

"Tomorrow then," Lily said, heading towards the staircase, "good night James."

"Good night" he said, as they both slipped out of each other's view.

James walked up his staircase with heavy steps. This act seemed to cause some commotion, since he normally did not walk in this way, for a few heads turned from both the near empty common room and lower years' dorm rooms. Had the situation been different, he would have snarled at these gestures, but something else was tugging at his sleeve. Something was going on between Cora, Sirius, and more than likely Kyra because that was the only topic the first two had in common. Maybe Kyra had found out that Sirius was cheating on her, which would make sense for when Sirius was in a bad mood he was more careless with his affairs. But then again, Sirius had been on bad terms with Cora ever since he found out she liked him, so the tension for a fight between the two was present; they just needed a match to start the fire. But whatever the cause for this fight, it had ruined his perfect night. Lily had finally agreed to officially be his girlfriend; a feat he never thought would come to pass, but now all hopes of having a pat on the back or a late night snog were out of the question.

As James opened the door to his room he only had one thing on his mind; why did Sirius have to drag the rest of the group into his business?

"What the hell happened down there?" James yelled, as he slammed the door.

"Why do you care?" James heard Sirius say from behind his closed curtains.

"He won't talk to us either mate," Remus said, looking down at the floor from his bed; on which Peter was also sitting.

"You two weren't even there," Sirius said, opening his curtains, "So stay out of this."

"No need to get offensive," Remus said.

"We are only trying to help," Peter said, following Remus' lead.

"I said shut up," Sirius snapped back, causing both boys to silence themselves.

"Did you hit her?" James asked, saying the first question that was on his mind.

"Hit who?" Remus asked.

"Shut up Moony or I will blab your secret to everyone," Sirius said, getting annoyed at his two friends.

"Don't snap at him, this is between you and me." James said, trying to keep Sirius from ignoring the question.

"Let's keep it that way," Sirius said, intentionally gazing at Remus and Peter.

"Now can you answer my question?" James asked, getting annoyed with his best friend.

"What question?"

"Did you hit Cora?" James asked with voice rising a few notches.

"No, she fell" Sirius said, folding his arms, "And even if I did hit her she would have deserved it, bloody stalker."

James answered back with his hand on his forehead, "I'm not even going to get into a fight over that, but just let me ask you this," he took his hand off his head and then leaned against the wall in between his and Sirius' bed, "Why were you two fighting?"

"Kyra found out about Ariel," Sirius said, as if the whole ordeal did not faze him at all.

"I figured that," James said, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, "But let me get this straight. Your personal life in none of my business, but you better learn to hold your tongue and fists or you will end up just like your father."

"Why the fuck would you say something like that?" Sirius yelled, jumping off of her bed and bending his back to look James in the eyes, "First off I did not hit her, and secondly, you have no idea what my parents were really like, so don't go saying things you know nothing about," he finished his words realizing that he had just heard those same words a few moments ago.

"You can take the boy out of Slytherin, but you can't take the Slytherin out of the boy," James said, but soon regretted it when he felt a fist hit him in he face.

"Here me this," Sirius said with a deathly glare, as James held his hand to his face, "I better not hear anymore coming from your fucking mouth tonight, or I will kill you myself."

And with that, Sirius hopped on his bed and closed the curtains. The last thing they heard from his that night was a silencing charm that was placed on his bed, probably so no one could hear him going crazy behind the fabric.

* * *

Cora has reached her destination quicker than her thoughts could handle; the real world was moving faster than her own fantasy. She did not know why her mind had chosen today to take over her rational thoughts, but it probably had to do with Sirius taking down her initial barriers. It was not even the fact that she liked him anymore, for she had gotten used to him being with other people, but she knew those words he said would hurt the most coming from him. She had once felt something for him and had put herself on the line to see if he felt the same; she ended up falling from that line. She often envisioned him saying the kindest of words to her, but instead he was speaking the opposite. 

Cora felt selfish as she thought these things. Her friend was only a few steps away and all she could think about was herself. Not only that, but she had purposely put as much space between her two friends at this moment then any other time in the past when one of them needed support. Of course, it was Lily who had given her the legitimate excuse, but she still felt horrible because she did not go to that location. Cora had brought herself down to a new low with a new type of lying; lying to get away from another friend's misery. Sirius was right, what kind of friend was she?

She put her hand on the largest window of the astronomy tower, and took a quick look to the ground below. She brought her head back inside with great haste and took several deep breathes; she did not like heights let alone what she planned to do. She had always had an excuse to keep her from going this far, but now she could not find a single reason to keep herself from making the final jump. Cora did not think this would be the way she would finally end her life, but it was the easiest choice at the moment. She had to do it now before the sun came up and bore down on her broken soul even more. She had lost her way and the will to fight.

Cora slowly climbed up on the ledge of the window without a look toward the ground. She began to imagine her life as if it were a movie. Her hair would begin to blow through the wind as she opened her arms wide to welcome the sweet relief. And then, just as she was ready to take a step in the direction of a downfall, footsteps would be heard running to her location. They would belong to Lily, Kyra, James, Sirius, or any other soul in the world who either cared for her or she wished cared for her. They would argue with her until she came down from the ledge and then they would sit in each other's embrace, crying, until morning. But this was not a movie; this was real life. There would be no rescuer to save her from her wish of death and no one to talk soothing words to her all night long. The only thing that would save her was herself. Cora wished for the strength to let herself go, but as she forced her right foot off into the emptiness above, she quickly brought it back. She then slowly came off the ledge, tears falling endlessly. She was such a coward that she could not even will herself to jump off the highest place in the school to end all the pain she was feeling. She had walked away from death, when she had nothing more to live for. Fear was the only thing keeping her alive. It was not the love of a friend or the need to prove to herself that later in life she would be better than this; it was fear of death that kept her from killing herself. That fear would forever keep her living in the world of the sane and in the realm of the insane.

Cora then crawled into a corner of the tower and conjured a razor in her hand, doing the only thing she knew that helped ease the pain a bit without fear taking over her actions.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long, but last week my best friend's uncle died. I wasn't that close to him, but I pretty much spent a few days with my friend doing things that I hope kept her mind off it. I guess that might be the reason why this chapter ended darker than I originally intended it to be. I knew Cora's actions would come eventually, but I guess the death urged me to put it in sooner. I guess it fits.

I hope there aren't too many mistakes. I don't have a beta right now for legimate reasons, but she will be back soon!

PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh, and don't hate me for making Sirius seem like the bad guy, because he is one of my favorite characters. In fact, if you like him you should read my one shot called Defying Fate: The Sirius Black Story. I don't think it is my very best work, since I don't like how I wrote some of it (it sometimes seems a bit rushed), but it is the bets I can do, since I don't want to start a whole new project for fan fiction. But read it anyway and tell me what you think. Personally I love Sirius character because I think he had been through so much in his life, that everything he does and every way he reacts is for a certain reason. Something happened in his life to make him act like that. If you read my one-shot, you will see why he acts so 'crazy' sometimes when he is in the most trouble. Also please review that too. It makes me sad when I see so many people have read it (since I know now with the hits counter) and yet there are only one or two reviews.

Kudos for all those that reviewed! You guys are the ones keeping me going with the story!

Cilverblood: Glad to hear from you again. And yes with Sirius, I am trying to make it seem like he ususally has good intentions in the beginning, but always ends up messing everything up. He is one of my favorite characters. He is so complex and with that, everything he does, there is a reason for the way he acts that way.

PadfootandProngs91: Oh, one of my favorite reviews, everytime I see your screen name it makes me smile. With Cora as a character, I am trying to show the hardships of life. I could not show it with one of the characters everyone knows, so I had to use one of my own. And with Sirius, he is one of my favorite characters. He is so complex and with that, everything he does, there is a reason for the way he acts that way.

X.Little.Black.Cat.X: thanks for reviewing

glowing-ice:does a dance: I love new readers!

Windowseat Wonderer: thanks for reveiwing

maraudersrock77: I love your screen name by the way, and thanks for reveiwing

deceptive shadows: Sirius definitly needs to be smacked around a bit.

mizlovegood: can I ask you something. Do you like Luna lovegood as a character, or are you just using that for a screen name. Sorry but she is my favorite character after Sirius, and I would love to know if someone else liked her as a character too.


	30. Bound By The Past

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own anything you don't recognize.

**Dedication: **To PadfootandProngs91, who found the truth behind the fiction.

_"No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another's happiness."  
- Graham Greene_

**Chapter 30: Bound by the Past**

(A/N: to those of you that read my one-shot Sirius fan fiction, this is almost a continuation of the story. It picks up when the party ended.)

_A ten-year-old Sirius Black tried quietly to make his way up the staircase to his room. He knew his parents were not happy with him for how he had acted at the New Year's Eve party and knew the punishment for the crime would be great. He was supposed to try and recruit the Potter's son, James, to join ranks with his friends, but he had failed. James had helped him fully open his eyes to the things around him in just one visit. He made him rethink everything he had been taught through out his life and although it was only completely different, it made perfect sense. In his own mind, Sirius had always questioned his parents' ideals, but he had never had the initiative to challenge them. But now that he had heard the thoughts that lingered in his mind coming from another person, he had a sudden new strength to do what he believed was right. He hoped this newfound strength lingered at least until he arrived at Hogwarts for his first year in September, for then he could recharge for the year. _

_"Sirius, get down here right now," Sirius heard his mother call from down stairs. He cursed to himself; he had almost reached his room._

_Sirius slowly made his way down the stairs, dreading what awaited him at the base of the staircase._

_"Yes mother," Sirius said, as he walked up to his mother with his head down._

_"You know you did something wrong," Mrs. Black said in a mocking tone, "You can't even look me in the eye."_

_Sirius raised his head at his mother's words and looked at the women in front of him. Her black hair laid limply on her shoulders as her pale eyes shot daggers into Sirius' gray eyes. Three small wrinkles sat between her two, heavily waxed, eyebrows, which showed him that she was angrier than he thought. Her slightly pointed nose flared and her mouth was thinned so that only a red line crossed her face. She intimidated him, and she knew it, when she acted like this. But Sirius reminded himself that he had to be strong and stand up to her…or at least take her beating like a man._

_He looked into her eyes, "Yes mother."_

_"At least you know you did wrong," Mrs. Black said, as her husband walked up next to Sirius and put his hand on his son's shoulder, "Becoming friends with the Potter's boy was not part of the plan."_

_"How do you-"_

_"We have our ways," Mr. Black said, tightening his grip on his son's shoulder._

_Sirius winced in pain, but did not show the emotion on his face. Any type of emotion that could show weakness would not be tolerated in the Black Household, especially if the person happened to be a male._

_Sirius thought again at the comment his father had said. He figured his parents had asked someone to spy on him during his meeting with James, but he did not know who the culprit had been. Lucius had been busy with one of his cousins, and no other of his friends had been there at the time. Unless his brother was supposed to watch him; he remembered Regulus had been uncharacteristically close that night. Sirius would have shook his head in disbelief had the situation been different, only a Slytherin would betray his own brother like that. _

_By the time young Sirius Black had come out of his thoughts, he realized his father was escorting him up the stairs; he knew where this passage led._

_"Please dad, please not the dark room," Sirius pleaded, turning around and facing his father._

_"Your mother and I have discussed it and we think this is the best option right now," he said, in a darkly calm way._

_"How long?" Sirius asked, as his father roughly shoved him into the dark cell._

_"How ever long it takes," Mr. Black said with a slick grin on his face as he slammed the door._

_Sirius watched as the door to the outside world closed before him. He would be stuck in this solitary confinement for an undetermined amount of time with only the occasional insect or rodent to keep him company. Light did not penetrate these cold stonewalls, except the brief flash of illumination that came when the solid dog door opened daily for a bit of nourishment. Darkness, although Sirius had gotten used to it over the years, and the emptiness it made him feel still got to him at times. The silence and stillness of the air caught his breath and tightened against his chest. _

_His heart started beating furiously as realization hit. Panic arose into his head and he began circling the room for weaknesses. In his mind he knew the walls contained no soft spot that could be used for an escape attempt, since he had been in here a few times before, but in the moment he could not remember the things of his past._

_"I want to get out of here," Sirius said, still circling the room._

_Sirius could almost hear his parents mocking him behind closed doors; their laughter piercing his ears and biting at the edge of his sanity. Sirius cupped his hands against his ears, but the sounds kept creeping inside his brain. _

_"No, No, No," he kept repeating as he shook his head to try and rid the haunting spirits out of his mind. _

_He had only spent a few minutes in this hello hole and he was all ready letting his parents' torturing methods get to him. At least, he thought only a few moments had passed. He had no way to tell time in his cell, so all for all he could know, he had been inside for a week. But for whatever amount of time he had been in this solitary confinement, he did not want to have his parents win this battle. He had to put his mind in a place where he could block out every negative thing around him. At this, he began thinking of going to Hogwarts without being sorted into Slytherin, being friends with James Potter, and all the adventures he would soon have with his new friend._

_Without warning the door opened to reveal his mother, "Are you ready to come out?"_

_Sirius did not respond to this, all he did was smile and laugh. His mother looked at him as if he were going insane and closed the door again. Sirius immediately snapped out of his daze and yelled, "No, let me out, let me-" but before he could finish his words, his mind traveled back to the place where his sanity could be kept and a creepy smile crossed his face._

Sirius woke up from his sleep. He put his hand up to his head; he did not want to remember those times. He had spent a full month in the dark room for his wrongdoings; the rest of his days before going to Hogwarts were split between punishments and reinforced teachings of the Slytherin ways. He was proud of himself for making it through, but what he did not know then was that once he returned home from his first year, the hardships he faced between him and his family would only get worse.

He willed himself to stop his thoughts, he did not want to recall back to memory those moments in his life. He looked at the clock that read 4:30 and although he wished to go back to sleep, he did not want to dream about forgotten memories again. So with his eyes heavy and puffy, he got dressed and left the tower for the kitchens; he did not want to be bothered today.

-------

Later that day James awakened to find Sirius out of bed for the third morning in a row; ever since the two had had their fight he had gotten up before the rest of them. James figured he was still fuming over what James had said three nights ago, but Remus thought it their friend's actions went deeper than they were looking. To the three friends, Sirius had always been the hardest to figure out. He could change moods easily and in the worst moments, he would be able to laugh in his dog like way. He was one of those people who, every time he smiled, you wondered whether to believe their face or their eyes, for they always showed a hint of sadness. Although none of the boys talked about the strange characteristics of their friend, they all knew it. It was these subtle clues that Remus had based his hypothesis about Sirius; since now it was impossible for the boys to ignore the lesser-known traits of Sirius Black.

"He obviously had issues with his family," Remus had said last night, before Sirius came in for bed that night, "but we all ready knew that. But I think he was somehow scarred by what he was shown in that house, which could be the reason why he vowed to be nothing like his family. When you brought them up James, he was forced to rethink everything he had done in the past. I think that is probably the reason for his odd behavior, he needs time to think."

Remus probably wanted to say more about the situation, but as he spoke he got the idea that the other boys knew what he was talking about; James probably more than anyone else. James and Sirius had always been close; if a person saw one of them, then the other was not far behind. James knew Sirius' life at home was not a pleasant one. Yet even though Sirius knew there was no hope to turn his parents around, he still had hoped to show his brother the bad things their family was doing. Regulus, who was a few years younger than Sirius, was still able to change his destiny of being the perfect Slytherin. So far, all of Sirius attempts at talking logic into his younger brother had failed, but he did not give up all hope until the summer before his seventh year when he appeared at the Potter's home.

Each of the marauders knew Sirius had been through more in his youth than all of them combined, which was a large feat considering that one of the boys was a werewolf. All three of them came from parents who loved them and who accepted them for who they were. Sirius was cursed to live with a family where no leeway was given and certain failures would not be tolerated. He had come from a home where his parents did not love him, so once he arrived at school he clung to his friends because they were the only people that had ever loved him back. The lack of love and structure in his life most likely played a role in why Sirius acted the way he did. Inside they knew their friend had issues none of them could fix, but they only hoped his past would not take over his future.

"You guys want to head down for breakfast?" James asked to the two people in his dorm.

The two boys answered with a nod and, since neither had classes until the afternoon, they slowly got dressed and walked down to the Great Hall where they met Lily who was seated in the middle of the Gryffindor table. The boys followed James as he sat next to Lily; Remus took the seat across from James and Peter sat next to Remus.

"Still no Sirius?" Lily questioned, a little worried for her boyfriend's best friend. In reality, she should not have cared what happened to the boy, since he had caused the hurt that now plagued her best friend, but because he had uncharacteristically isolated himself from his best friends, it was not human not to be worried about him.

"Nope, you didn't see him this morning did you?" James asked, taking Lily's hand under the table.

"I just got here a few minutes before you," she said, using her unoccupied hand to hold her fork and gently move her food around the plate.

"I see," James answered back.

"How is Kyra doing?" Remus asked, taking some toast.

"She was pretty bad the night it happened and the day after," Lily said, "as you know. But, she seems to have found a rebound."

"In who?" Peter asked.

"Sebastian Bach," Lily said, looking up from her plate with a smile.

"The Ravenclaw chaser," Remus said with his eyes wide, but then quickly brought them back to a normal level and rolled his eyes, "Why is it always a Quidditch player?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged with a laugh, "They must be attracted to her or the other way around. But Kyra isn't really my concern at this moment. You guys can't let Sirius be on his own the rest of his life."

"We have to figure out a way to talk to him," Peter said, taking a bite of his food.

"Yeah, and not make it worse," Remus added.

"So are you three going to tell me what happened that night or not?" Lily asked, looking around at the three boys.

"Maybe," James said, raising an eyebrow at her, "once we make sure he won't kill us. Even though it would be better to let the actual true rumor pass through this school for a change."

"Of course with our luck, the truth won't pass like wild fire," Remus said, watching Lily's actions.

"You guys can't keep putting it off," Lily said, letting go of James' hand, "You have to talk to him James."

"I know," James said, looking at the food he had put on his plate.

"You're his best friend and since I have all ready figured out that it was the two of you that had the spat," Lily said, ignoring James' confused look, "you should talk to him."

"How do you know it was me?" James said defensively, "Maybe it was Peter or Remus," using their regular names so Lily would not get confused.

"Elementary my dear," Lily said, in a voice a mother would use to gently scold a small child.

James gave her a look, to which she answered, "Plus I saw Sirius ask how you were to Peter and Remus in the library yesterday."

"So you were the one who heard us," Remus said, pointing his fork at her.

"Yes," Lily said, holding her hand out to put Remus' weapon down, "and put that thing down, or you're going to take someone's eye out."

"Yes mom," Remus said, going back to eating.

"Whatever," Lily said, rolling her eyes at Remus' comment, "Anyway, I think you should go and talk to him before he gets in any trouble."

"You know, this really isn't any of your business," James said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh," Lily said, putting her hands on her hips, "So you don't need my help anymore."

"No no no," James said, putting his hands up and crossing them in mid air, "I was just saying."

Lily then rolled her eyes again and pointed to the door, "Just go and apologize."

Feeling defeated, James left the Great Hall without even a goodbye to his friends or a kiss from Lily. James knew Lily did not have any business getting into their friendship, even if she was his girlfriend. In his heart he knew he should make peace with his friend, but he was not sure how to do it. He would have the words planned out, but then they would soon be forgotten when he remembered what Sirius did in response to his comment. It was normal for the two to get into an argument now and then, but never had either of them hit one another. Sirius had broken a bond that would hopefully be put back together after they cleared up the mess they were in currently. James loved Sirius like a brother and he was just as smart, but sometime he did things without thinking. He was one of the greatest minds in the school's seventh year, but he was also one of the most dangerous. It was this personality trait that made James' best friend so hard to predict; he had the mind of an evil genius.

As he made his way to up the stairs to his dorm to get the Marauder's Map, he placed a thought in the back of his mind to thank Lily after this was over; she had forced him to do the thing he desperately wanted and did not want to do.

--------

"You okay Lily?" Remus asked once James was out of sight.

"Me?" Lily asked, as she stopped staring at the place that James had just been, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Remus asked again, "You don't look like you're fine."

"I agree," Peter said, "but we did not want to mention anything to James about it, since we know he would go crazy if something was wrong with you."

"Really guys," Lily said, her eyes back on her plate as she went back to playing with her food, "I'm fine."

"Is it Kyra then?" Remus asked, not giving up on the subject.

Lily shook her head at the question; she figured she was not going to get out of this until she started talking. "It's not Kyra, it's Cora."

"What happened?" Peter asked.

Lily looked up, put down the utensil in her hand, and placed her hands in her lap, "She has not been herself since we came back from vacation. She went to the hospital wing the night we came back, but the next day when I went to check on her there, Madam Pomfrey said she had never been there. I told her not to worry about it, but then I couldn't find Cora anywhere. I saw her at our first class, but she looked a mess. I didn't question her about the night before, but now I wish I had." Lily again looked up at the boys, "I can't explain it, but she is different. I guess I have to talk to her too."

"She is probably just shaken from the attacks and Sirius accidentally hurting her," Remus said, looking at the girl in front of him.

"Yeah, probably," Lily said, pushing her plate out of the way, folding her arms on the table, and putting her head down on her arms, "I just don't know what to do." Lily then lifted her head; "I mean, Kyra and I haven't been spending that much time as a group anymore. That could be part of it, or she could be sick."

"Lily," Remus said, stopping her from speaking, "Just talk to her."

"Yeah," Peter said, "You and James are more alike than you think."

Lily again rolled her eyes, "I better go. Maybe I can catch Cora before her next class."

"Why did she decide to continue taking divination anyway?" Peter asked, not liking the subject himself.

"No idea," Lily said, leaving the Great Hall in a hurry.

-----

A worried look past Cora's face as she remembered the words of her friend from this morning; Lily had asked, after she had refused to go down to breakfast with her, if she felt sick. She, not wanting to worry her friend, said she had not felt herself since she had gotten back from winter vacation. Cora knew better to think that Lily had believed that phony excuse. Lily was the brightest witch of their year, there was no way anyone could fool her easily.

Cora had left her dorm that morning soon after Lily had departed for the Great Hall; Kyra had departed as she woke up. Cora did not feel like being with her friends recently, it was too much work to be around them. She had to pretend everything was all right; that her brother was still alive. It pained her greatly to think of her late brother; he was the last of her family to die at the hands of the deranged murderer. She had had the urge to tell her friends about the death of her brother and tell them how much it hurt to keep it all inside, but when the incident with Sirius had happened she did not want to take attention away from Kyra.

Kyra, although she was one of Cora's best friends, she did not find her friend in good taste anymore. The day after the Sirius incident, as the girls now called it, Kyra, Cora, and Lily had spent most of the day together until Lily was dragged away by James. Yet even after the third party member had left, Cora and Kyra still had fun. It was not the normal happy-go-lucky excitement the group was used to, since the life of the party was still getting over Sirius, but it was the most fun the group had had together in a long time. Cora felt a bit selfish for liking that Kyra was dumped by Sirius, but she could not help herself. During that time, she had smiled her first real smile in a long time. But like all good things, it must eventually come to an end. The next day Kyra told Cora to meet her in the library, but unfortunately, Cora had run into some trouble with Peeves on the way there and was held up. When she finally arrived she found Kyra in the arms of the Sebastian Bach, the Ravenclaw chaser that had had his eye on Kyra since the beginning of the year. Cora tried to step away from the two, but her friend had seen her and Cora's plan of running away from the couple was foiled. She spent a good part of the morning with the couple; the most uncomfortable morning of her life with them laughing and kissing every time either party did something amusing. She eventually got away from them saying that she had homework to finish up on for her class later on, but the damage had been done.

Cora sat in the empty common room, since most people had classes or were at breakfast, and waited for the hour to come when she could leave for class. She placed her hand on her left forearm that was covered by a shirt. She knew she was running out of room on her arm and would soon have to find somewhere else where she could make her mark. She loved the feeling of the blade against her skin and the blood coming out of her newly opened wound, but in truth she wished she did not have to do it. Cora did not like cutting herself for one reason; it left scars. The scars reminded her day after day of the madness within her that lurked just beyond the surface. They reminded her of the pain that she felt inside of her. But she could not just stop her doings, the pain would overcome her and she would have another suicidal episode. Suicidal, she hated the word and she hated labeling herself under it, but she had to face facts; that was what she was. But the sad thing was, if she could go back and change the past, she would have rather jumped off the astronomy tower because she was left alone once again. Yet this was not the comfortable solitude she sometimes loved. It was the 'your not good enough for anyone' solitude that plagued her every thought. This seclusion gnawed at her sanity and led to her to do the things she wished not to do. But, she figured she should get used to it. She was one of those people who was meant to be alone all her life.

Seeing that the time had come to leave for class, Cora gathered her things and left. Cora had just turned out of sight when Lily came running up into the common room.

-------

James walked outside onto the school grounds to talk to his best friend; he still had the map in his pocket in case he moved. Sirius Black was seated in the boys' favorite tree. James should have known that he was there without even checking the map. Every time one of the boys needed time to think, they would venture out to that sole tree on the never ending green grass.

"Having fun," James said, as he found Sirius swinging from a branch.

Sirius just looked at him, there was nothing he wanted to say to his friend. Sirius knew he had done wrong when he had hit his best friend in the face, but James had hit him in an all ready sore spot that night. He and James had had unwritten rules of their friendship since the start of their relationship; James would not bring up Sirius' family and Sirius would not ask about James' other siblings. Both subjects were tender for the boys and they thought it best not to bring up either. James had no right to do what he did, but then neither did he.

"Sirius, I have more reason to be angry at you than you do."

Sirius then said his first words in a singsong voice, "Sticks and stones may break our bones but words will always scar."

"Shut up," James said, "Now can you get down from that tree."

"No," Sirius said, shaking his head and crossing his arms.

"Your acting like a child," James said, "I'm leaving."

"No don't," Sirius said, coming down from the tree and holding out his right hand.

"Finally snapping out of it?" James asked, as he turned around and crossed his arms.

"I am in no mood for your lectures," Sirius said, walking up to his friend and pointing his finger at him.

"You're the one who hit me," James half-yelled, smacking Sirius' finger away.

"You crossed the line first," Sirius said, "You promised never to ask or mention my family to me."

"You're right, I was wrong. I admit that," James said, throwing his hands up in surrender, "But you crossed a line too."

"You deserved it," Sirius said.

"Oh really," James said with a hint of sarcasm as he crossed his arms.

"You always think you know everything," Sirius said, circling around and throwing his arms up to add to the dramatics, "Well you don't know shit about my parents or my family. Don't ever think you know what I have been through in my life, because you probably can't even imagine."

"Maybe if you told me what went on in that house I could get an idea."

"My past dies with me," Sirius said coldly.

"Fine," James said, "Have it your way. Keep your bloody secrets to yourself. But if you do, don't complain to me about things I don't know anything about."

"Don't talk about it then," Sirius said, just as cold, "You never were supposed to in the first place."

"Fine, I'll try and forget about it," James said, "But you still have to learn to control your temper."

"I have no temper."

"You fucking do!"

"I don't have a temper problem," Sirius said, emotion coming back into his voice, "It's just me being defensive."

James then looked back at his friend with concern, he was trying to let something out he had been denying his whole life.

Sirius continued, "I had to have a short fuse in my house, or else I never got anything. The rules were simple in the house, either kill or be killed."

James just stared at his friend. Although it was only a small amount of information about his life before Hogwarts, it gave James a new light to see Sirius in and it showed him why most Slytherins had quick tempers. They had to grow up in a world that did not give them a second chance if they messed up their life. They had one shot to make their life the best they could be; there would be no heroes among thieves. It was Darwin's theory happening right before James' eyes; only the fit survived.

"I'm-"

"Don't say anything," Sirius said, waving off his friend's comment, "I don't need pity nor a sob story about how I am 'so much better then them.' I've gotten that speech before, I don't need it again, especially from you."

"I wasn't going to say anything like that," James said defensively, even though he was going to do just that.

"Then what were you going to say?" Sirius asked with his eyes wide.

"I just know why you hit me now," James said, stroking his chin with his right hand,

"I'm sorry about that mate," Sirius said, shaking his head in disgust with himself.

"It's all right," James said, putting his hand on Sirius' shoulder, "There is enough fighting going on right now, no need to start another war between us."

Sirius laughed at the idea, "You're crazy you know that?"

"I'm crazy," James said, lighting bumping Sirius to the side, "You were the one singing in the tree."

"Hey," Sirius said, his voice becoming more sincere as he threw his hands up, "it is better than going crazy on the outside. I've learned ways to keep calm under high pressure, for example, what was just happening."

"I'm not going to ask," James said laughing.

"I didn't think you would," Sirius added as he laughed along with his friends.

The two friends then walked into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the bell signaling the end of the morning classes. Without sharing a word, the two boys headed for the Great Hall for lunch to meet their friends.

"Lucky we didn't have any classes until this afternoon," James said, sighing at his thought.

"Thank god we dropped divination," Sirius said, as they entered the hall for lunch.

-------------

A/N: I've noticed I haven't been doing much Lily and James in a Lily and James fiction. So, as in response to that, Lily and James with have a few moments in the next chapter (not that I have all the teen angst out of the way for the moment). Speaking of teen angst (since by now most people have the 6th book done) how did everyone like the book? It wasn't my favorite, but that might be because I figured out everything that was going happen while I was reading it. I also thought it was too much teen angst, and yet that is what I am writing (now that is what you call ironic).

I also don't like how I got Sirius and James to start talking, but oh well, it is the best I can do.

I also have found that I like the word uncharacteristically.

Anyway, tell me your thoughts about the book, my story, or anything really. I do like having little chats with my reviewers!

Speaking of which, Kudos for you all that reviewed!

PadfootandProngs91: I love hearing from you! I'm glad I got the emotion in the story, nice to know I can do that to people. Also, Cora I think is a very important character because everyone can relate to her in one way or another. She also brings the bad parts of like into the story and tells people that not all tales end with happy endings...at least so far, I don't want to give anything away.

mizlovegood: you were right with the death eater question...although I doubt he is doing a very good job lol!

Zippy-Wings: thanks for the review!

ghilliekitten: thanks for the review!

Anonfornow: I'm glad my story is not as corny as I thought it was, that makes me smile. Maurauders are definitly my favorite too. Oh, and I hope your butt is better. :;smiles:

pink-zelda: I am not very good at grammar, but I am getting better. Constructive criticism is always welcome. How can I get better if people don't tell me what I did wrong?

mchintap: a like Cora too. I like writing her because it gives me a break from writing an almost 'fairy tale' ending for Lily and James.

Windowseat Wonderer: Yes Sirius is a bit of an ass, but hopefully after this chapter a few more people will understand where he comes from.

Dementedtearz: Thanks for the review!


	31. A Closer Look

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"You look at him from a distance, but if you look close you will have a different view."  
-Anonymous_

**Chapter 31: A Closer Look**

Just as quickly as the rumors concerning Kyra, Sirius, and Ariel, came around during the first week after the ordeal, they just as quickly faded when the news of Lily and James' relationship hit full circle. At first people did not believe this could be true for the two had been enemies for most of their lives, but when the couple could be seen holding hands where ever they went and stealing glances during classes it was without doubt the truth. People first thought that James had given Lily a love potion, but that preposterous idea was hastily straightened out by Sirius and Kyra; although it was not a joint affair. After the questionable prospect of one of the two using a love potion was squandered, it was still odd in some of the student bodies' minds to have the two head students acting more than civil to each other. Even now, as the students entered the first week of February, some students and staff members could not believe that the relationship between Lily and James had grown as rapidly as it was. They sometimes could been seem speaking to each other or acting like an old married couple, fights and all. Although the students did not think about a long-term relationship occurring between the two in question, some of the staff members who knew Lily and James the best thought the two had something very few people had anymore in this world.

During the month of January, Lily and James tried their best to duck the rumors. Of course, this was hard when their friends would ask them if any of the gossip was true. Most of it was completely farce, but occasionally the truth did pop up, which made the couple wonder if Kyra and Sirius had started those stories to keep the falsehoods from becoming out of control.

Yet as Lily sat in the Head's common room, finishing the last of her homework, rumors were the last thing on her mind. Recently, Lily had been falling behind with her studies; something she and her parents would not stand for. Between head girl duties, studying for Newts, keeping up with the happenings of her friends, and trying to keep a steady relationship, homework seemed to fit in when ever she had time to do it. She was slightly annoyed at herself for ignoring her work in this way, but she could not help it. It seemed all the drama people faced during their teen years was coming out during this moment. Lily had never been one to get involved with the gossip and anxiety of the teen drama, or angst as it was informally called, but it seemed fate did not want her to escape her teenage years without a bit of experience with this ever present force.

"Someone looks uptight," James said, walking in and sitting on the couch as he watched Lily do her work at her desk.

"I have to finish this essay by tomorrow morning," Lily said, not looking up from her work.

"I always thought that was never a problem for know-it-all Lily Evans," James said in a mocking tone.

"Normally it wouldn't." Lily said, taking her eyes off of her homework for a few brief glances at James, "But with so many things going on and so many distractions, it is hard to keep up with everything."

"By distractions I am guessing you mean me?" James asked, turning away from Lily and started starting at the burning fire.

Lily simply rolled her eyes at the comment and went back to her work. It did not seem that James would be leaving soon, since he was probably going to wait until she decided to go to bed, but so as long as he was quiet she would be able to work efficiently. She glanced at James once more before continuing with her essay. Although she cared for him, she always found him having huge amounts of free time despite the fact that he had the same amount of work, possibly more, as she. Lily felt jealously start to burn inside her. She had to work for her good grades and it seemed that James did nothing; he appeared to be working on pure talent.

"Finished," James asked, turning around to face her again smiling, "Or do you like looking at the back of my head?"

"Shut up," Lily said, getting back to her essay.

James smiled and shook his head as he turned back to the fire in front the couch he was sitting on. The Lily he thought he knew a few months ago was completely different from the one he knew today. Back then she believed she was a girl who thought nothing about giving up a good time for a time to study or do homework. But as he got a bit closer to her, more under her skin so to speak, he learned there were buttons one could push to get her to snap out of her hard-core educational mood. Yet even more recently, in the past few weeks, Lily had a distant appearance. No matter what she was doing or where she was, she could often be found staring at nothing and looking as if to be engulfed by her thoughts. He laughed a bit at the thought of their last Potions class, where Slughorn had to wave his hand in front of her face to get her to pay attention. As usual, Lily being one of his favorite students got away with the stunt when he blamed it on lack of sleep. She was excused from the class, something she was reluctant to take, though James knew she was at least a bit happy to get out of class and get some extra free time.

"I highly doubt you have anything to laugh about," Lily said, putting her parchment away, "Mr. I won't get a detention."

"Hey," James said, turning around to look at Lily again, "They deserved it and you know it."

"What ever," Lily said, although knowing she did enjoy the stunt the Marauders had pulled on the Slytherins for stealing their 'welcome back' idea.

Lily inwardly smiled as she packed up her books and put them in her bag. It was a week ago today that the Marauders had pranked the green and silver house. That day the boys had arrived at breakfast early that morning to make sure all the Slytherins were effected in this prank, but most especially the ones who had stolen their original idea. They had put a sticking charm on each of the seats of their targets table, which could either be broken by a certain amount of time passing or all the Slytherins working together and getting up at the same time. But this was not the highlight of the prank; which was subtle but funny nonetheless. The unsuspecting Slytherins would be able to put their breakfast food on their plate but when they tried to eat it, it would not be able to be picked up. After a few minutes of this, if the person kept trying to put the food in his or her mouth, the food would take on a mind of its own and fight back in any way to avoid being eaten. Although the whole ordeal had been one of the most amusing moments of her life, Lily only remembered one specific Slytherin's attack. Snape's food had picked itself up and started pointing a fork at him; Lily never laughed so hard.

"It's late," Lily said, getting up and going in front of James' line of sight, "We should head back."

"We don't have to yet," James said, coming out his daze and grabbing Lily by the middle and pulling her down on the couch.

Lily laughed at this and put her bag down on the floor, "At least we can get out of trouble if we are out late, being Head students and all."

Lily then snuggled up against James' left side and he put his arm around her, "I seem to be rubbing off on you. Staying out late, letting homework go to the last minute. You're being such a bad girl Ms. Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes at his comment; ever since they had started going out she found herself doing that motion a lot. James was someone who always had a cute comment for everything. Of course Lily knew this before she even got to know the real him, but since she took the time to see what he was really like she found herself either laughing at the comments or simply ignoring them. But all his bad comments and terrible antics could quickly be forgotten when she sat in the place she was now. She never thought she would ever let herself sound so corny and cliché, but in his arms everything was right. It did not matter that killings were happening at least once and week and Newts were sneaking up that she was far from prepared for, because with him time stood still. She hated herself for thinking this. When she used to read the cheesy love stories the characters would often find themselves feeling the same way she did; bliss in their significant other's arms. Lily always believed nothing in books was real because it was purely fiction, but she learned that even fiction has a bit of truth inside. Those writers that sent their feelings into the world hoping that at least one person could be affected by what they had written. She believed that these surreal worlds and perfect relationships were only true in the minds of writers and hopeless romantics; but it seemed they spoke of true occurrences. But if this side of their works were true the darker sides had to be based on some fact as well. The dark tales of souls lost in their own horrors and personal hells lived side by side in the mind of a writer. It seemed Rene Descartes had called it right when she said, "The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as the greatest virtues."

"You're quiet," James said, taking Lily out of her thoughts, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," She said, not taking her eyes off the fire in front of them, "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Well spill then," James said, "As long as it isn't about school,"

Lily took a deep breath and let out a sigh before she continued, "It's Cora."

"Again," James said, putting his right hand to his face.

"I never talked to her that day you and Sirius made up," Lily said, looking at her hands in her lap, "She has changed and it worries me and probably Kyra too, but I haven't really talked to her about it. Every time I tell myself that I am going to talk to Cora about her odd behavior, I get distracted in some way," she concluded looking at James.

"I shouldn't distract you from your friends," James said, "It's an unwritten rule; friends come first."

"I can't believe I just heard that from a guy," Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief, "I always thought that was girl thing."

"Nope," he said, looking at her, "You guys just think it is. It makes it easier to say guys are asses when you lot get mad at us."

Lily laughed at his comment.

"Why don't you have a girls day? Even if Kyra can't go, why don't you two spend the day together?"

"Actually that isn't a bad idea, the three of us haven't spent a day together in forever," Lily said, looking at James, "What makes you the sudden expert in girls?"

James' face then turned a bit dark and voice became gravely serious, "My sister used to tell me what to expect from girls before she died."

Lily looked at James's face as he spoke. She knew it still pained him to think of his late sister, even though the event that happened years ago. She could not blame him; the same thing would probably haunt her if she were in his place. This was one of the secrets he had kept from most of the world and Lily wondered what other things he kept hidden from the most people. That was one of the little things keeping her in this relationship, besides that fact that she truly cared for him. James was one of the most mysterious people she had ever met. Every time he became serious she knew he was about to tell something from the heart. Behind his pranks and carefree attitude was a person ridden with a secret past. But this also made Lily think; James was not the only one who seemed to hide things. Did the other Marauders hide things as well?

Lily put her hand on his face, which caused him to look into her eyes. Without realizing it both leaned in a gently kissed each other. It was not a passion based kiss, as most kisses are, but it was a reassurance kiss. It told them that no matter what happened to their friends or in their past, they always had each other. This trust was more than the other could ask for at the moment.

When they broke, Lily laid her head on his shoulder and looked up at him as she spoke, "We should head up."

"Yeah," James said solemnly, stealing another kiss before the two got up.

* * *

Sirius sat in the boys' dormitory with his head on the pillow and his arms behind his head. After the last prank the group played on the well deserving Slytherins, the boys had spent little time with each other. The week afterward the four had spent in separate detention rooms, although James and Sirius used a secret weapon to get out of being alone; this it was one of the few secrets they kept from Remus and Peter. Yet after this time the two spent 'together' neither Sirius nor the rest of the motley crew had seen much of their friend. It was not like the boys did not know where to find their friend; in fact it was this knowledge that caused the infuriation in Sirius to almost combust. For almost two weeks James could either be found in the library tutoring a third year, as was required by prefects and head students, or spending time with Lily.

When James had first told his friends about his liking for Lily Evans, Sirius believed if his friend did get with this girl, it would only be a short fling. No girl had ever been put before the boys' friendship, it was an unwritten rule the group had, and it seemed James was the first to put the opposite gender as top priority. He placed Lily on a higher pedestal that his best friends. Nothing enraged Sirius more than to be second best to anyone, especially a girlfriend.

"Can you believe him?" Sirius asked, sitting up from his bed and facing the wall, "We haven't pulled a prank in forever. All he has time for is his new girlfriend."

"You can't really blame him can you?" Remus asked, looking at his friend.

"Of course I can," Sirius said, snapping at his friend.

"He has been wanting this for a long time. I personally didn't expect him to spend a lot of time with us after he finally got her," Remus said, looking at his friend.

Inside that hard outer shell Sirius had wrapped around himself, he was truly happy that James was with Lily. James was Sirius' best friend and it was out of love and jealousy that Sirius felt the way he did. Remus could tell from his friend's body language that his actions were not meant to hurt James, but causing harm to someone and not looking at the possible repercussions of his actions was normal Sirius behavior. Remus knew he had been though a lot in his childhood and that when neither of the two main marauders had girlfriends, they would were inseparable. Sirius was just going through some separation anxiety; he was one of those people who always had to be with other people for alone he could do damage to himself. He simply did not want to loose his best friend and Remus could not help himself, he slightly agreed with him. But Remus did not want to let this be known. He was lucky to have made friends because of what he was, it was not right for him to try and change them.

"What?" Remus asked, coming of his thoughts and realizing that Sirius was looking at him for a response to the question he just asked.

"You never listen to me do you?" Sirius asked, getting up from his seat, "First I lose Prongs to a girlfriend and now I lose you to your damn thoughts, are you going to leave me next Wormtail?"

"No," Peter said, too afraid of Sirius at the moment to say anything else; when Sirius got mad, it was best to stay out of his way.

"Good," Sirius said, pacing around the room but keeping eye contact on Remus, "At least I have one friend that will stand by me."

"If you are this worried about James," Remus said, getting up from his seat and deciding to ignore Sirius' statement, "then go talk to him about it. It will do you no good to stand here and complain to us about this."

"How can I even talk to him with that stupid girl around?" Sirius asked.

"Don't say that about Lily," Remus scolded, holding up his finger in Sirius' face.

"Ah," Sirius said, throwing his hands up in disbelief, "So you are on her side now."

"I am on no one's side. It just seems that it is impossible for someone like you to comprehend what it means to have a serious relationship."

Sirius moved back to his bed, grabbed his wand, and headed for the door but he did not leave until he spoke a few words, "What would I know about relationships? Bloody hell Moony at least I've had them, you fucking prude."

Remus just watched as his friend left the room with some intention that neither of the two boys that were left in his wake knew about. Of course Sirius always looked as if he were about to cause mayhem, but this time he knew that something big was going to happen. But after the comment his best friend had just told him, Remus was not in the mood to try and foil Sirius' plan. Besides, whatever it was that his friend had in his system to let out, it most likely had to do with James and there was no need for a third party to get in the way; when Sirius Black wanted something thing done, he usually did not rest until it was completed.

"You okay Moony?" Peter asked, it was then Remus noticed that Peter had made his way over to him when his thoughts had taken over mind.

"Yeah," Remus said, although he noticed that his stomach did not feel right. No false rumor said could hurt him, but when the truth came out it was hard for him to hold his feelings back. It was true, he has never had a girlfriend and at this stage in this life he felt he was the only one. It was also not in his nature to be very assertive, although recently he had been rebelling against his friend's stubborn attitudes, and this was something most girls in the school wanted. They wanted a guy to take control of the relationship, but Remus knew he would not be able to do that. With this and his 'furry little problem,' as his friends called it, Remus did not feel welcomed by the opposite sex. The problem was not with girls, but with him. He simply did not feel comfortable around them and he had his low confidence in himself to blame for that.

Remus then sat on his bed and pulled the curtains back; Peter saw that his friend wanted to be alone. Peter hated seeing his friends like this, fighting and bickering about nonsense things. Sirius and James spent so many hours focusing on their own needs that they did not see the problems going on with the lesser-known marauders. Peter had always been aware of Remus' social anxiety and mental instability, but neither of the other two seemed to notice.

Maybe if the four had stayed as close as they had been during their first few years of friendship he would not have done what he did. Peter felt guilty for what he did, but it was either join and receive the two things he wanted in life or decline the offer and be forced to loose the things he wanted forever. He never thought one of his friends would end up hurting, but it was to late to turn back now. He felt his arm burn and he knew he had to leave the Gryffindor tower. So with a quick goodbye to Remus, Peter reluctantly left the room remembering that he still had not received the gift he wanted most from his master; Lily Evans.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I have not been in the mood to write a lot lately. I also have not been in the mood to write love/cute scene, so the Lily and James one above you all are going to have to deal with until I get out of one of my moods. I hope this doesn't seem harsh, but it is the truth. Next chapter, Sirius goes crazy once again and more Lily and James

Please Review, reviewing could help me get out of my mood and write faster.

Kudos for all those that reviewed, if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't have updated today.

PadfootandProngs91: well you deserved it. I love hearing from you!

mchintap: Oh I am glad you like Cora. She shows the darker side of life and not the happily ever after James and LIly pretty much have.

Zippy-Wings: thanks for the review

mizlovegood: Yesh I didn't like the way 6 was written either. There was just something about it.

maraudersrock77: a 'bad fan fiction,' that is the perfect way to describe it. Double Kudos for the remark.

glowing-ice: I love Sirius too. But just remember, there is a reason for everything he does. Plus with the ruff life he had growing up, he is bound to be a bit crazy.

Heather: Thanks for the grammar clue. I will try to be more conscious of that.

anonymously morgan: yeah I have a lot of Cora, sometimes I can't help myself. Sorry about that.


	32. The Reality of the Situation

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."  
-Muhammed Ali_

**Chapter 32: The Reality of the Situation**

Lily and James walked hand in hand out of the Head's common room about an hour before curfew was up for the seventh year students. It was a privilege for the eldest students, and the prefects, to have the ability to stay out a bit longer then the younger students. It was originally set as a time so that the seventh year students could have extra studying time without the little kids around. Unfortunately, over the years, this extra time was mostly used as free time for snogging. All the teachers knew that was what most students were doing, but the greater number of them chose to ignore this. There was even talk that the teachers would soon try to take back this hour, but Dumbledore did not agree to it. Apparently a few Ravenclaw students were using this time to study in the library, at least that was what he said.

But for whatever reason it was that kept the halls of Hogwarts open for a bit longer, whether it was a teacher's faith in his students or keeping the seventh years from revolting because of their limited privileges being narrowed down even more, most students who could stay out found reason to do so. James and Lily, although the two could stay out a bit longer than anyone else because of their position, usually went with the option to stay inside the common room or the head's room during the last hour. But today was different, neither of them knew why, but something told them that they should head back early.

They walked in silence back to the Gryffindor common room, simply enjoying each other's company. They were at a point in their relationship that no words were needed to fill the silence around them.

"I knew I would find you two here," Sirius said, standing in front of the couple with his arms folded across his chest.

"Sirius," James said, his friend catching him by surprise, "I thought you would have been with Ariel tonight."

"If you had been paying the least bit attention to anyone besides her," he said, pointing at Lily, "you would know I am currently with Marissa."

"First of all," James said with his voice rising to the tone of Sirius' and pointed his finger at him, "don't talk to Lily like that, she has done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. Second, how am I supposed to keep track of your girlfriends? You get a new one every week."

Sirius watched his friend's actions with disbelief. Over the past few weeks he had been dating Lily, he had completely changed. Before the two went out he and James were closer than brothers, but now they barely saw each other. It disgusted Sirius to the point where he felt sick some nights. They were supposed to be best friends for life, at least had been their plan when they were kids. Never leave each other, until death do us part. Yet now, to Sirius, it seemed that someone had taken his place and without James, he did not know where he belonged. Feeling this, he felt more like an orphan than ever before.

"You used to know everything about me, before you started spending all your time with her. It used to be the four of us, the notorious Marauders. Now, we have turned into a trio; Peter, Remus, and me," Sirius said, his voice uncharacteristically cold and serious.

"What are you saying!" James asked, anger building up in his system. "That I'm not a good friend. That I haven't been there for you guys?"

"More than that, you've abandoned us."

As this fighting went on between Sirius and James, Lily could not help but feel uncomfortable. Not only did the argument have to do with her involvement with James, but watching any kind of fighting made her insides squirm. It made her remember the days she used to hear her parents and Petunia bickering about her. Petunia would blame every misfortune the family had on Lily's abnormality, whether it was being dumped by a boyfriend or doing poorly on a test. She would often say that Lily had put a curse on her to ensure that she would be followed by hardships all her life. Her parents would try to convince her the truth of the matter, that Lily could not do magic outside of school until she was seventeen. But nothing stopped her sister's constant accusations.

Lily shuttered at the thought of those stormy nights in which she was left alone with her sister.

"I think I am going to go," Lily said, moving away from the arguing boys.

"No," James said," you don't need to run off just because Sirius is being a prat."

"See," Sirius said, jumping up as if James' action had excited him in some way. "This is what I am talking about! You are so consumed by Evans here, that you have no time for the friends that have been with you since the beginning."

"I've always been here for you," James said, holding his right hand over this chest as If clenching a wound," but god forbid I take some time out for myself."

"Evans, may think you have changed," Sirius sad coldly, "but you are still as egotistical as ever. And you know what, I think you have gotten worse ever since you got the thing you wanted."

"Shut up Sirius." James said, returning the icy tones back to his friend, "or I will do the same thing you did to me a few weeks ago."

Whatever it was the two boys were talking about, Lily figured it was bad because Sirius' eyes widened at James' words. Lily knew something had happened between the two, and even though James had told her a convincing story about what happened, she knew there was more to the story then he was letting her in on. Although sometimes her curiosity got the better of her when she knew someone was lying to her, she surprisingly did not mind this. She felt this was something that was to be kept between friends. Lily may have been a curious cat, but she knew where to draw the line.

Yet Sirius' words also caused another feeling to take root and sprout. Did her friends feel ignored as Sirius and the other boys did? Lily shook off the thought. Every time she was out with James, they both were usually busy, at least Kyra always was. But what about Cora? Lily did not think the girl could be affected by such a trivial thing, she had a heart that was made of both stone and feathers; she was caring and things rarely bothered her.

"You think nothing is wrong, go and talk to Peter and Remus," Sirius sad, holding is arms out in surrender, "they will tell you the same thing, if they talk to you at all."

And with those haunting words, he left, going in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor common room. Lily did not know what to think of the statements Sirius had made and James, to Lily, did not look like he wanted to talk about the encounter. So in silence, the two warned back to the common room. She tried, after a few minutes of walking, to take his hand, but he just shrugged her off. Lily usually was not one to be lost for words, but at this point she did not know what say. There were too many variables of the situation that she was not sure what would make him snap and relax. Thinking this, she thought it best to stay quiet.

It seemed to take forever to get to their destination, but when they did James, instead of heading up to the dorm right away as she expected, sat or the couch in front of the fire. Lily's initial reaction was to comfort her fallen, comrade, but something was pulling her upstairs. She was not sure what this was, but she felt obligated to follow it. Her eyes watched James until he was out of sight as she ascended up the stairs.

Fatigue began to take over her body as she opened the door to her room. She saw that Cora was already in bed and had the drapes closed around her. Although she knew the hard work week finally coming to an end could make anyone tired, Lily found it strange that a night owl like Cora could be asleep so early. Following her intuition, she called to her friend from her bed.

"Cora, are you awake?"

Immediately Lily heard panicked movement from behind the curtain.

"I'll be right out," Lily heard Cora say in a rush.

"Are you are right?" Lily asked in response to her friend's voice. Worried that her friend was hurt in some way, which seemed true based on her shaky voice, Lily got up from her bed and opened the curtains. However, nothing in a million years could prepare her for what she found on the other side.

* * *

James sat in front of, what seemed like, an everlasting fire fully lost in his thoughts. He found it ironic that his last year in Hogwarts was turning out to be the best and worst time of his life. He was slowly losing his friends, the very people he trusted. On the other hand, he finally got the girl he wanted. He did not think it was fair that Sirius was basically giving him a choice between his friends and his girlfriend; how could he make that choice? Maybe it wasn't him maybe it was just Sirius, after all Sirius had been the only one there to voice his argument. His friend was just being selfish and that was the only thing that could cause Sirius to have such an outburst. He would have to ask Peter and Remus about any other strange behavior Sirius may have been displaying over the past week when he was not with them. 

_"…you've abandoned us," _those words echoed in his mind more than any other hurtful thing Sirius had said to him. He did not want to fight with his friend again; the last time should have been enough friction between to two to keep them happy for the rest of the year. But it seemed this year would not end as quietly as James had planned.

"You're in early," Remus said, as he and Peter came down the staircase.

James had told himself to answer Remus' comment, but he could not bring his voice to listen to his mind's command. He had no idea how to bring about the sensitive subject Sirius had so openly talked about.

"Did you talk to Sirius?" Peter asked, sitting next to James.

"I guess that's a yes," Remus said when James did not answer the question.

Remus sat across from James, directly in his line of sight in order to try and distract him from his stare, but it seemed that James would not give up that easily. Since he had known James longer than any of the other Marauders, he knew exactly what was on his mind; he only got like this when he was angry with a close friend. Sirius had definitely told him what was on his mind, not only did he conclude this because of James' composure but Sirius was never one to keep the thoughts inside of his head.

Although Remus might have been called the forgotten marauder of the group, since he was usually not the one executing the pranks, he was considered nothing less than a friend to the other boys. He would often sit and watch his friends plan attacks on unsuspecting strangers that wandered too close to the trip wire and wonder went through their mind to make them do these types of things. Although he would be lying if he said he did not take part in some deeds, most he found too risky or undeserving for his liking. Anyone who thought they knew the 'leaders' of the group would think that this aspect of Remus' personality would cause him to loose points with his friends, but the real the marauders, the ones behind the pranking and jokes, cared more about their friendship than their stunts. Because he spent more time thinking and watching others then doing what he friends did, he found that for all the seventh year students he could successfully, nine times out of ten, correctly match any person with their even hidden most personality.

His best friends had been the first he had been able to figure out; since they were the ones he spent the most time with. James was arrogant when he wished to impress someone, but once he got over this need, he could turn into the perfect person. He was also very protective of the ones he loved, which probably had something to do with him loosing his sister at such a young age. Sirius was loud, clever, and boisterous, but this was only to cover the true person he was inside. He was an extremely jealous and protective person, a side Lily and James now knew all about. Yet despite his outlandish and sometimes narcissistic actions, he also was weak, lonely, and broken. He had had a rough childhood and he would probably remain scarred for life by that; Remus blamed that for most of his friend's exotic behaviors. Peter was a very smart boy who sadly had a habit of speaking before thinking. No one would notice when he had the right answer because unless it was happening in real time he would say or do something wrong; given the time to fight, Peter was one of those people who could easily be on his toes and fighting like a professional. He was also a quiet person, which told Remus he took in the world just as much as he did. Most people were shunned away by Peter, but he was a loyal and good friend nonetheless. In fact, the only flaw Remus could see in his friend was that he always wanted to be on the winning side. He would always wait for either James or Sirius to pick their choice before he chose his; he could not stand the thought of loosing.

Yet even though these three people, plus Remus' quiet and secretive way, were completely different, the four marauders stuck easily together, when Sirius and James were not fighting. They were almost the glue of the group, since they talked and basically ran the group most of the time, being that Remus and Peter would usually go along with anything. When those two were not getting along, Remus would have to step up and take a stand. And as he stood up from his seat, walked up the fire place, and let his right forearm rest on the mantle he knew what he had to do. He had to bring James and Sirius together by making one of them seeing who was wrong, and for the first time in a long time, it was not Sirius who needed to back down.

Remus, fully confident and yet not sure what the reaction of his words would be, looked at his friend and said, "He has a point and I think Peter and I," he purposely did not use their nicknames to assure James that he was completely serious, "would have to agree with him."

Remus knew he did not have to go on, James all ready understood the words coming out of his mouth. He motioned for Peter to follow him out to find Sirius before he acted in a way he would regret in the morning because of his mood, but before he could leave a very distressed looking Lily run down the staircase and up to James. As if knowing her footsteps, James turned around and looked at her.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked from the other side of the room.

She looked at him, "I-I think," she stuttered out, as if she was having trouble finding her words. He knew immediately something was wrong, for Lily always knew the right thing to say.

"What happened?" James asked, grabbing Lily's attention from Remus.

"I need you to stay out of the head's common room tonight," Lily said, almost pleading with James.

"Why, did something happen?" James asked again, turning completely around in his seat so that his knees were against the cushions.

"I can't say. But promise me you will do this for me, just one night? I'll explain tomorrow," Lily said, her eyes glazing, "Trust me."

James laid a hand on her shoulder, "Of course."

Lily weakly smiled, "Thanks," was all she could muster out before she kissed him on the cheek and ran back up to her dorm.

* * *

Lily tried to find reason with the events that had just played through her life. Everything in the world seemed to be going well when her life suddenly crumbled from beneath her feet. Sirius was currently fighting with James because of her and from the looks of it, Remus and Peter were not happy with him either. But that was nothing to what she had found behind the curtain of Cora's bed; she was found in the very awkward position of sitting on her knees while trying to put an open disposable razor under her pillow. A box of band aids laid open with a few that littered the sheets on her unmade bed, but this could not compare to what else she saw; a swarm of red cuts and partially healed scars on her thighs. 

She could not remember what else happened in that room, for the rest of her mind was blank up to the point she asked James to stay out of the head's dorm. Lily did not know why she asked for this, but she knew she had a reason. Coming back into the room and seeing her friend looking down at the floor from her bed, Lily suddenly remembered telling her not to move or she would get one of the teachers, and she was making movements of crying from her stance.

Although she was unaware of what exactly was coming from her mouth, since the current situation felt so surreal, the words came to her. "Get your stuff," she said more forcefully than she meant to, "Bring all the stuff you are hiding to, or I will tell someone."

Cora slightly nodded and got all her things in silence. Keeping her eyes on her friend for most of the time, she wondered how she could have missed this, but more importantly, how Cora could do this? It wasn't as if Lily has never heard of people self-harming themselves, but she never believed that Cora could have been one of those people. On the outside she appeared to have it all together and a smile would always be on her face. Lily suddenly hated herself for not seeing any warning signs. She could have stopped this from happening. Why had not Cora just told her what was wrong? She always helped people when they needed it.

Lily and Cora ignored the glances they were getting as they walked out of the common room, since curfew was almost up. She was glad that the boys had left the room by then, for Lily could not let Cora out of her sight for a second. She knew her friend would not run away now that she had been caught, but she felt the need to be close to her at all times. She needed to protect her friend from the feelings Cora felt that did these things to her. Lily wanted to help her more than anything, only she did not know what to do. That was the main reason for spending the night in the head's common room alone with one of her best friends, she left note telling Kyra that she and Cora were busy and might not be back until late, besides she would probably not come into the dorm until very late anyway; Lily wanted to make sure her friend felt safe tonight.

She knew Cora would not talk easily, but as they entered their desired destination, she knew whether the night brought silence or words that it was going to be a long and brutal night.

* * *

A/N: I decided to end it there so that the next update would not take as long since I already have something to start on, plus a little cliff hanger here and there never hurt. Not really a cliffy, but closer than anything I have ever has before. But anyway, school starts Thursday so the updates won't come as quickly as they have been lately. I will try to update every two weeks, but at least every month. I won't forget about this fan fiction like I did last school year since I have to finish this by next September since I start college then. 

This chapter sucks, it is short, and I am sorry for that, but I will try to make the next one better.

I hope to break 300 reviews with this chapter. And remember, the more reviews I get the most likely I won't lose interest in writing.

Kudos for everyone that reviewed!

Holly-Short-Evans: thanks for the review

glowing-ice: friends come first...I am also a firm believer in that.

anonymously morgan: thanks for the review

mizlovegood: I promise, the next chapter will be more exciting

Zippy-wings: thanks for the review

Machiavelli Jr: thanks for the offer but if my beta keeps being MIA I may take you up on that so watch out! Thanks for the advice!

PadfootandProngs91: Even though you may not like where is story is going, it will turn to your liking. Lily can't fix everything anyway.

maraudersrock77: thanks for the review

octopus1738: I am glad my story is more down to earth, that was what I wanted to do

yellowgirl134: your questions will all be answered in good time.


	33. Mending with the Sword

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

"_A friend is someone who, upon seeing another friend in immense pain, would rather be the one experiencing the pain than watch their friend suffer."  
-Amanda Gier_

**Chapter 33: Mending with the Sword**

"Why did you do it?" Lily asked Cora, not knowing else to say.

Cora simply starred out the window, not ignoring Lily's words, but just being too afraid and embarrassed to answer her.

Lily knew Cora's ways, and she could tell what was going through her mind. Of course, now that Lily had found this out about her friend, she knew she no longer felt she had the hold on people's personalities she once had. Cora was always the one to keep her emotions from affecting her work and the one to calm everyone down when a crisis happened. Never in a million years would Lily think her friend was hurting herself.

"Cora," Lily said, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder. As it laid there she could feel them shaking and Lily looked down to see her friend's face stained with tears. Lily immediately took her friend into her arms without another word. Cora hugged her back and the two girls sat in silence, except for the occasional sob by Cora, for they were too overcome by emotion to know what to say.

Lily could not help but let a tear stain her face as she held her friend close. She wanted to take away the pain in her friend's bones, but Lily knew no remedy for this. And for the first time in a long time, Lily was clueless on what to do.

"Cora," Lily said again, pulling away from her friend and starting to look at her friend's tear stained face. "Why did you do it?" She asked again.

Cora moved her eyes to look into her friend's worried stare, "I don't know."

"Come on," Lily said, her voice growing in anger, "You need a better reason then that. Did you want to kill yourself Cora? Did you want to die? Do you want to become a statistic?"

Cora watched her friend start to flip out on her. Lily was a normally calm person, but when she become passionate about something, her emotions would get the better of her. Fear engulfed her as Lily's anger grew, but she did not know the antidote that would suppress her friend's unusual temper. Cora did not know the answers to the questions Lily was asking her, but she could not tell her this, for it would only increase her rage. Why exactly she hurt herself, Cora did not think she would ever know the answer that question no matter how many times she was asked or how old she became. It was not as if she had planned on it her whole life or that something in her brain told her to do it, she just did it. It was like an impulse, an automatic reaction to the stress she was under. It was a release. If her body concentrated on the pain in her wrist or thighs, then the pain in her heart would be numbed, even for a short time. After a while the act was no longer something she could just stop at will, it was an addiction.

"I don't know Lily," Cora yelled back, once her strength came back to her.

"Cora," Lily said, sitting down with her friend on the couch while trying to calm down her voice, "I won't tell anyone if you tell me why you did it or what motivated you to do something like this?"

"I'm telling the truth Lily, I don't know. I guess it was my only way get out my frustrations," Cora said, shrugging her shoulders and looking away from her friend. She would not say she was embarrassed by her scars, but to go out on a limb and tell her friend the complex workings of her mind was not something she wished to fully exploit. In her head her logic was correct, but Cora had to admit to herself that out loud it did seem a bit ridiculous. But what was done had been done and that was nothing she would be able to do to change the past.

"Why didn't you just come to me or Kyra? We would have been glad to help you through anything? For god's sake Cora, we are your best friends."

"There are just some things I did not want to tell you," Cora said, her voice starting to rise again, "and besides, the two of you have been so preoccupied with your lovers that I am left to fend for myself. When was there time to talk to either of you?"

"Well maybe if you decided to not be so antisocial, the three of us would talk more," Lily said, with tears attempting to roll down her cheeks, "Ever since we came back from Christmas break you have been so secretive. You won't talk to anyone about anything anymore."

Cora's mind began to fight against Lily's accusations. Cora was not being secretive and she herself was not being a loner, Lily and Kyra had simply started seeing guys and boyfriends as being more important than their relationship. Friends were always supposed to be first, but from what Cora had been seeing lately, Kyra and Lily were focused on their buy relationships. In fact, Cora seemed to be the only girl not running around with a guy by her side. Realization started to sink in to what would happen to hers and Lily's life now that her secret had come out. Lily would not longer be happy with their friendship, for she would always be worrying about any bad day or experience Cora had. Cora knew Lily and James were meant to be together, and that if all Lily's attention was on her, although she would not say she did not like all the attention and love form her friends, she knew Lily would be much happier with James. Besides, it was selfish for Cora to think that Lily should only spend time with her. With a heavy heart, Cora came to one simple conclusion.

"Lily," Cora said sweetly, "I love you and I want you to know that I am doing this for your own good."

Lily looked at her friend bewildered, "How could hurting yourself be-"

"Obliviate." Cora said to Lily as her bewildered face turned to less confused state.

"How did we get here?" Lily asked innocently.

Cora smiled and hid the pain inside her soul with a hint of laughter, "You flipped out over one of my grades in Charms and you wanted to tutor me. I only got one grade lower than you Lily."

Lily responded to Cora as if she had been having this conversation the whole time, "but grades are so important right now, since graduation is only a few months away."

"It's not big deal Lily. Now let's get out of here and go to bed."

"Fine," Lily said, crossing her arms and leading the way out of the Head's common room, "but we are not finished talking about this."

Cora knew what she had done was wrong, but it was better this way. It was betting that no one knew what she was doing to herself. It was her burden to bear and it was horrible of her to make her misery someone else's misery. Lily may have shown some concern to her, and Cora knew that would help her concur her demons for a while, but she knew the call of the razor would soon become too much once again. She knew her way of life was wrong, but she had no other way to get out her emotions. Besides, how Lily would be happier and guilt free, and to Cora, that was all that mattered. Her life may have been screwed up, but as long as her friends felt no pain, than that was all that counted.

* * *

Sirius lied on his bed playing with the snitch James had given him at the end of their sixth year. It was the last real gift James had truly given him, since to Sirius, the James he knew for most of his life was dead. Their brotherhood of trust had been broken by their biological need for closeness to the opposite sex. Sirius had to admit to himself that he was partially to blame because he had encouraged his friend to change for the girl of his dreams and he was also guilty of attempting to have girls fill his need for friendship and love. But Sirius had known in his heart that these girls over the years had meant nothing to him. They were just a short reprise from the demons that plagued his own life. Yes, he had demons, but he did not let the world know about it. He lived with it and dealt with it through many different ways. Sirius lived his life trying to find ways to drown them out, but the most prominent two were girls and defiance. Defiance was the greatest, for it has always been there while girls had only been a recent discovery. The high and ecstasy he felt when he was doing something against the society that once tried to control him, he felt alleviated of all pain. 

And as the door opened up and someone's steps creaked on the floor boards, Sirius felt the pain of the day start to sink into his heart. But whoever this visitor was he would not show them the weak side of his soul. He was human, but he did not have to show the world that.

"Padfoot," James called upon entering the room. After seeing his friend's curtain closed he walked near his bed and gently said, "Sirius."

Not wanting to ignore his friend and having the hope of getting rid of some of his frustrations out through yelling, he pulled back the curtains and glared at his friends.

"We have to talk Sirius."

"Really? You didn't seem willing to talk back there when Lily was in your arms. Did Remus and Peter put you up to this?" Sirius said, getting up from his bed and moving to his trunk. Once there he opened it and starting rummaging through it.

"None of that matters mate. I'm here now and I want to talk."

"Sure, when it's convenient for you."

"You don't seem busy now."

"I wasn't busy before either! Before you want to talk James, you better put your priorities in the right place."

"Well this is the problem Sirius, whose priorities do I need to follow; mine or yours?" James asked, standing behind his friend, "And what the hell are you looking for?"

"This," Sirius said, handing a picture to this friend and walking back to his bed to sit down on it.

James turned the picture around so that he could see it at the correct angle. It was a moving picture from the boys' third year. James could not help but smile, even though he was in the middle of a situation that did not merit such happiness. It was a scene of the marauders during the largest winter storm they had ever experienced in their years of life. Peter was covered in snow in the shape of three balls, a human snowman as Sirius as called it. But the image showed Peter's dislike of the idea when at one moment he was covered and the next minute he was shaking the material on to Sirius who went from smiling to frowning upon being drenched by Peter. Remus could be seen on the opposite side of Peter being quiet as he watched the whole event unfold and James, who just saw the final action, rolled on the floor laughing.

"Sirius…"

"What happened to us?' Sirius asked, looking down to the floor from his bed.

"We got older. Things got more complex. The war started."

"James, I don't want to fight anymore. I don't care what you said or I said, I just want to start a new. The only thing I want you to know is that when we end school we won't be protected by this place anymore," Sirius said, looking around the room in a way that told James that he was talking about Hogwarts as their only real place of protection. "We are going to have to make our own world safe for us and our future generations. We aren't enemies. We may have our disagreements but we will always have the same enemies and that makes us allies."

"I agree," James said, sitting on the bed next to his friend, "But I also know I have to learn to balance time with the most important people in my life."

"We all do. We don't know how long we are going to be around, so we might as well do everything we can. But Prongs, do you really like Lily?"

"I'm not sure anymore. I think I may love her."

Sirius did not show any emotion to his friend's words, almost as if he were expecting them. He just looked down at the floor again, sighed, and then opened his mouth to speak.

"Then I think you should tell her," he said as he closed the curtains of his bed, leaving his friend to think about the words he had just spoken. Sirius did not know the reason for his words, nor did he know why he had not been harsher to his friend. Maybe it was the war or maybe it was the letter that had just arrived from his family asking a final time if he would join the effort against muggles and muggle lovers but Sirius knew that everyone's life was going to be different when they graduated. There was no point fighting with someone who might end up dead the next day, how then could anyone life with themselves? Being together as a group was more important then fighting for meaningless and selfish reasons.

James sat on his bed watching his friend close the curtains. He knew his friend was still upset, but he also knew where his friend was coming from. The only real family Sirius had ever had was him, Remus, and Peter. With the war in full blast and people dying almost every day, the excitement of graduating was more somber than other years before them. And since James, Sirius, and Remus planned to become Aurors, the chance of them surviving the war was even less. The only strength they had was only available when they all banded together. With these heavy thoughts, James closed the curtain of his own bed and laid down for a much needed night sleep.

* * *

While the boys were just settling down for the night, Lily and Cora were just entering the common room. 

"Hey Remus, Peter," Lily said joyfully.

"Hey," they both said, getting up to see if she was alright from the last time they saw her.

"I think I am going to head to bed," Lily said to the two boys, "I'm not really up for anything else tonight."

"What was wrong before?" Remus asked, "You seemed pretty distraught."

At his words, Cora's muscles tensed and she tried to make a get away to the dorm room, but she was topped by Peter's remark of, "wait."

"Oh," Lily said, coming back to herself, "Cora has been ignoring her studies and I just need to have a chat with her about it. Now boys I am going to bed."

As Lily walked away, Remus turned to Cora and asked, "Is that all that's the problem?"

Cora looked into Remus' eyes and she hated the fact that she had to lie to him. He had never done anything wrong to her or anyone else, and yet she was being forced to lie to him. She hatred herself for it, but she would later punish herself for thinking such things and for forcing Lily to listen to her pointless ramblings.

"Yeah," Cora said, looking away from Remus and Peter, "You know how Lily gets with bad grades."

"Are you sure because she seemed a mess before she left?"

"If there is anything else, I don't know about it. She is probably just stressed, and you know what stress does to Lily. Remember the mess she was before our OWLs?"

"That's true," Peter said in a laugh-happy tone.

"I guess," Remus said, as Cora traveled up to her room. But as he watching her head up to the stair case, he could smell the stench of blood on the girl and the part of Remus that craved such things wanted to take over and run after her. Although he always smelled blood, but with her it was almost constantly coming from her and usually stronger than all the rest. He had not figured out why, but it was none of his business. With that he knew that Lily was not really his business either, but he knew it was James' business so he would ask him to check up on her in the morning. But now he was tired, and from the looks of it, so was Peter.

Sharing a nod, the two boys when up to bed to find James and Sirius already asleep, so they decided to settle down quickly as well to get ready for the first of February

* * *

A/N: I have been a very bad writer because I have not written anything for the longest time. Although I am a little crazy trying to balance work and school, a lot of stuff has been happening lately so I have not been in the mood to write lately. But I have returned from the dead to write this. I hope to start writing this again intensely soon, but I don't know since the angst in my life is still not ending. Anyway, I know this is short, but hey it is an update. More Lily and James next chapter, as long as I am in the mood to write some love/angst. Which I probably will, but who knows. I haven't proofed this one, because I just don't feel like reading through it right now. But it should be alright. If there are any major problems with the story please tell me. Also I am welcome to any ideas and if you give me any I will be sure to thank you and mention you, I will give credit where it is due. 

If you are reading this, then I truly thank you for being patient with me. So Kudos for everyone that reviewed and Kudos for everyone reading this now!

Machiavelli Jr. -Hey I have to be a bit cliche :smiles: I also thought Remus was the only one who could really see what his friends were really like.

Windowseat Wonderer - I'm glad to here from you again in a review and I'm glad you liked it.

PadfootandProngs91 - Oh, I love hearing from you. I don't think I ever made it seem like you didn't like it, if I did I'm sorry. I just want an honest opinion. If it sucks tell me, and I shall try to make it better. I truly honor your opinion since you have been here from the beginning.

glowing-ice - Everyone likes Remus/Cora, you all shall see what happens. Kyra will be mentioned and Cora won't be mentioned for a while, so it wil be even soon.

Zippy-Wings - Thanks for reviewing

pumpkin.pie.forever - Thanks for reviewing

octopus1738 - Thanks for reviewing

V i K - Thanks for reviewing

anonymously morgan - I probably scared you this time for not updating ina while, but thanks for reviewing

mizlovegood - Trust me, I don't like Kyra and Remus together either. They are too different.

Jami - thank fo telling me that. I am trying to make these people seem like real people. Although it is a bit dramatic, but whose life isn't, expecially at the age of 17 and 18.

Randomisation - Thanks for reviewing

LittleHobbitKerstin - Your name is Kerstin, that is probably connected to my real name Kristen, probably almost an english translation of it and if it isn't then it is close enough...I thought that was pretty cool. Thanks for reviewing too!


	34. For Love and Friendship

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

"_Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet."  
-Roger Miller_

**Chapter 34: For Love and Friendship**

February became known as the month with no end to the seventh year students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Besides the feeling that they would soon be leaving a place they called home for the previous six years, tensions in many relationships began falling to the extremes. Everyone knew what horrors were just beyond the borders of Hogwarts and the students starting judging whether their friends were loyal enough to be trusted or trusted enough to be loyal. No student wanted to be friends with people who could easily be swayed by the dark side and in effect, many blood sisters and brothers started to be seen in the halls. These clicks between groups of friends were a way for people to be sure that their friends would always remain loyal to them. Whether it is a tattoo, bracelet, or pendant, it was sign and agreement that no matter what happened they would always be friends and remain loyal to each other.

The staff of Hogwarts at first viewed this behavior in a negative light, since it was similar to the recognition Voldemort used for his death eaters. Over time, however, they mutually decided that these bonds between friends were nothing more than a fight against the dark side on a smaller scale. It did not matter that these groups caused them to separate themselves from other doing the same thing, because the bottom line showed them all to be on the same side of the fight. Most of the staff knew that the small clicks may not be friends now, but when the going got tough, they would bind together for strength; for they all had the same enemy and that would be enough to keep the groups allied together.

Yet one group of friends, which the staff and students expected to be the first to join in this behavior, decided not to mark themselves. The Marauders voiced that they did not need to prove to each others that they were loyal. The issue of their friendship was not a topic in any of their discussions, they just knew inside their hearts that they could always count on each other. Even Sirius, who still had a bit of a grudge on James for spending too much time with Lily, knew his best friend would gladly give his life for any of the three. However, he also knew that now the number of people he would die and kill for was raised to four. Sharing his best friend was not easy, but he would just have to grow up and except the fact that James did not belong to him. With this thought in his mind, it did not surprise Sirius to see James and Lily walking outside on an abnormally warm day in the middle of February. He smiled at first, but then forced himself to look away. Whether he was jealous or angry he was not sure, but he had to get his mind off the things running through his head.

"I'll be back later," Sirius said to Remus and Peter, who were on their beds finishing their last bit on homework due the next day.

"Don't get into too much trouble," Remus said, as Sirius walked out the door to find an alternative way to get rid of his anger than his usual aggressive fighting with one of his friends.

* * *

"I still can't believe it's this warm at this time in the year," Lily said, looking around to find many people enjoining the rare warm weather event.

James watched as his girlfriend glowed in the sunlight and warm weather. Lily always voiced her opinion of hatred toward the cold weather, for to her it only brought the school moral to an unnecessary low. In fact, there was never a winter season that past by without Lily telling the faculty at least twice that the students would be more productive if they had off during the winter instead of during the summer. Of course, when teachers would ask Lily how the student body would respond to being kept in a classroom when the sun was shinning, Lily would keep silent. She herself being a summer girl did not want to work during those hot summer days, for if school was in session, Lily would have to choose between the two most important things in her life, knowledge and sunshine.

"Good thing it's a Sunday, because this weather is just a fluke thing."

Lily gave James a look of shock and denial, but then came back to her senses, smiled, and said, "You're right. It really is strange, even a bit creepy in a way. There has got to be something behind this weather. It isn't normal."

"Do you always have to overanalyze everything?"

"Yup," Lily said, smiling and then started running to the edge of the forbidden forest. As Lily was running she could hear James' footsteps following her to her unknown destination. Although Lily was not the athletic type, she loved the feeling of the wind blowing in her hair and the summer-like sunshine reflecting on her skin. She was a summer girl; there was no doubt about that, and this rare weather event made her feel like her true self.

Lily paused at the entrance of the forbidden forest and gazed past where the light stopped penetrating the dense foliage. A small light could be seen from deep inside the foliage and even though it called to her as a small child calls to their mother, she knew better then to wander in the woods. The dangers in the Forbidden Forest were far beyond anyone's wildest dreams and even a skilled witch like Lily could not fight all the demons inside. Finally coming out of her thoughts, she heard James' footsteps stop next to her.

"It's about time you got here," she said with a smile.

"You got a head start," James said, running his hand through his hair. Had he realized he was doing this action he would have stopped, it was a nervous habit he was trying to break, but at this highly stressful situation he could not help but twitch.

James knew this moment was the perfect time to tell Lily how he felt about her. Today was a moratorium of the winter season, and since he knew of Lily's love for the summer, he felt it would give him luck if Lily was in a good mood. And on this day, Lily seemed to be the happiest she had been in a long time. Her smile reached her eyes as she laughed at his slow running speed, the sun danced in her auburn hair, and her eyes, those gorgeous green eyes, twinkled through him in the sunlight. If he could pick a heaven, it was be this, to simply be in Lily's presence for the rest of his life. It was at that moment that he knew he loved her. He may have been unsure of it before, but it was now as clear as glass to him.

"Lily I-"

But as he started to speak he suddenly stopped. All of a sudden her hair turned back to its normal color and her eyes lost a bit of their luster. He started to panic. James wondered if this was a sign from the heavens above to not tell Lily his feelings. Was he moving too fast? They had only been dating her a short while and already he was in love with her? His passion for her was either true love or short-lived lust.

"You what?" Lily asked, her voice a little shaken from James' sudden loss of glow in his face.

As James gazed at her, not knowing what to say, a small drop of water splashed on her cheek and ran down her face until it fell from her chin. Lily, as shocked as James at the event, put her hand to her cheek and looked up to the sky. It seemed that just as quickly as the sun had come; it was now gone and covered by gray clouds ready to spill their tears to the world. Lily laughed a bit at the idea, but James found her amusement slightly annoying, he had the perfect opportunity to tell her what he was feeling and his coward self could not speak the words before the rain started.

In light of this he spoke, "We should go inside."

"Why?" Lily asked, as the rain started to come down at a faster rate. "Is little Jamesy afraid of a little water?"

"No. I just figured you didn't want to be stuck out in the rain."

Lily just laughed at his comment, reached for the collar of his shirt, and pushed her lips to his. James was a first caught by surprise, but quickly recovered and kissed her back. Maybe the fact that the weather was behaving oddly or it could just have been that Lily was having one the best days of her life, but to James Lily seemed to be a little escalated in her sex drive. Not that James and Lily had ever had sex and it was not as if he did not want to, but it seemed that in all his other relationships their bond was solely based on sexual attraction. Yet with Lily, it was different. It was like they were on a completely different level, a more comfortable one that did not always mean pushing everything to the limit. With this in mind, he finally realized what had happened in the last few moments. While he and Lily were ferociously kissing, he had unconsciously backed her against a tree. Neither of them were fazed by this, but suddenly James pulled back once Lily had started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Lily," James said, surprising her in the process.

"What?" Lily asked, feeling a little uneasy by his sudden jerk away from her.

"Look I-a…I…a…I have to tell you something," He said walking slightly away from her and sitting on a large rock.

Lily a bit concerned at this, a walked slowly toward her boyfriend. She had only seem him this distraught a few times, those times being during the worst moments of his life; his parents death and his big fight with Sirius. So in the least, she was afraid something else had happened to him.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked as she sat down next to him and took him hand in hers.

"It's nothing bad; it's just something I should really let out before I never say it to you."

James paused and Lily simply listened to him intently.

"I love you Lily-"

"Well I love you too-"

"No," James said, holding up his hands to halt her speech, "Just let me say what I have to say."

"Okay," Lily said, a little afraid that her boyfriend had either completely lost her mind or he was pulling her leg with another stunt.

"I really hope this doesn't come out weird," James said looking down at his hands and watching his fingers battle against each other. He then took a breath in and looked at Lily, all wet from the rain, and, even as he spoke, he wondered whether he should ever say such things that were on his mind.

"I love you Lily, like really love you. I have said I love you to many people over my life; my parents, friends, other girlfriends, but what I feel when I am with you is completely different from what I have ever felt before. I can't explain it. When I am with you I am always happy, even if I had just been told that I was going to die in a few hours, as long as I was with you, it would make the news so much easier to hear. When I'm not with you I think about being with you. I'm not sure what to make of it. But, the whole reason I am telling you this is because I want you to know that I truly care about you and that you're not just another pretty face in my life. I mean…if something happened to you…"

"James," Lily said, interrupting his long monologue, "I don't know what to say."

"Dam it," James said putting his hands to his face so that the next words he spoke were a little muffled, "I've said too much haven't I."

"No James," Lily said, getting up to stand in front of her boyfriend and pulled down his hands, "I will be honest with you; some of the stuff was a little creepy, but-"

"Great!" James said, looking toward the ground.

"But, listen to me James, but…I think it is completely normal," she said, forcing James' chin up with her hand. She then took her hand and put back a piece of hair that has gotten in front of his eyes and said, "Because, ashamed as I am to admit it, I pretty much feel the same. James, I don't know what we have, but whatever it is, it is something different. I can't explain it either."

With those words James smiled to his eyes, took Lily into his arms, and kissed her with a passion that had never been there before. They stood there engulfed in each other, the rain pouring down on their backs, but neither noticed any distractions for to them, it was only the two of them and that was all the mattered.

* * *

Remus stood by himself in the common room. Most people were either doing homework or were showering from being drenched in the rain, so he was for the most part alone. He watched the rain fall with his head against the cool window and although he appeared calm and collected, inside a battle was happening. The full moon was approaching and within the week of his transformation, he would also feel weaker physically and mentally. He stood, subconsciously counting the drops as they hit the window, wondering his place in the world. It was true that he had friends, but he often wondered whether it was worth the risk of their safety and if he was even worth real friends. One day, probably sometime within the next year, werewolves would be an enemy to aurors and others fighting against Voldemort. Werewolves were already being used as agents against common man to create monsters and future armies for the Dark Lord. This is the reason why Remus had been bitten, for it was around that time that attacks started becoming more commonplace. He was supposed to be a monster, but that is not what he wanted to be. He had a greater battle inside him then anyone of his friends; he not only had to choice which side he would fight against, but he had to choice the side that would give him the most freedom and sadly that side was most likely the dark side. But he would never do such a thing; his conscience would never let him.

A scent of blood reached his nose and his wolf instincts told him that someone was coming. As if on clockwork, Cora walked into the room holding the side of her stomach with her face scrunched with pain.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, coming out of his useless feelings of self pity and jumping at the aid of another human being.

Cora was a little shocked by his words, but kept walking briskly toward her dormitories, "I'm fine."

Cora Tetherwood. Remus only knew her because of the fact that she was one of Lily's best friends. She was not an unattractive girl, to be true Remus found her quite beautiful, but next to Lily's old fashion beauty and Kyra's reckless beauty, she was no match for either. Yet, what attracted him most to her was that she was a mystery to him. He wanted to find out more about her, simply because he knew nothing of her. She mostly kept to herself, except when Kyra or Lily were around. She was smart and beautiful, but he knew she did not know these things, for it seems that those who are the belle of the ball, often do not know they hold such power. It was her and other mysteries that kept Remus alive day after day. The puzzle and the thrill of it made him feel needed and Cora's constant stench of blood was just other reason why he was attracted to her, she was an exotic soul and sometimes it is the people who are the most different who are the most excepting of things not in the norm. It was someone like Cora who might be able to see past the menacing werewolf and see the true Remus.

* * *

(A/N: I know, I have been a very bad writer and I know this chapter sucks, but I can't help it. I wrote half of it like 7 months ago and the rest I finished tonight. I hope the grammar is right, I didn't really read it over. And I know this chapter is really bad, but I have to get back in to my plan of action. I am probably going to get them out of school in 2 or 3 chapters so I can start the real story out of school. I feel like I should continue with maybe an update every month or every 2 or 3 weeks if I can find the time.

Please don't flame me too bad…I am just getting back in the swing of things!

If you are still reading this from when I first started posting, you are truly and true reader and I love you for that!

-Blacksnowfalls06


	35. The Truth About Enemies and Prophecies

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

"_Something that has always puzzled me all my life is why, when I am in special need of help, the good deed is usually done by someone on whom I have no claim."  
-William Feather _

**Chapter 35: The Truth About Enemies and Prophecies **

April was revving its ugly head quickly as February and March past by in the blink of an eye, and most of the seventh years were busy preparing for the NEWTs. Although there was still some time before the big event, the importance of these tests even had some of the Marauders spending time in the library, well at least three of them, since Sirius still proclaimed that no such thing existed.

"But Padfoot, you have been in the library before," Remus said, as he and Peter left for the library to study potions.

"I don't know what you are talking about Moony," Sirius said loudly, waking away from him and putting his hands on his ears.

Remus simply rolled his eyes at his friend, "Come on Wormtail, we have some studying to do because," he said turning to Sirius and talking a little louder, "some of us want to get into auror training."

Sirius waited until his friends left before he removed his hands from his ears. He knew he should start studying for the tests, but Sirius had too much on his mind to concentrate; not even pranks could get his thoughts out of his mind. Sirius knew he was a little unstable; he had been ever since he started rebelling from his parents, but usually the voices in his head were easy to drown out with crazy antics and pranks yet for some reason, the past few days had been too much for him to handle. Over the years of his life he had learned to deal with pain and rejection. When he defied his parents, he was put in a hole in the wall and given little food. At first it drove him crazy, the long days spent in solitary confinement, but over time he learned to put himself in a different state. At first it was hard to transfer from normal Sirius to emotionally dead and crazy Sirius, but now he had mastered the act. While in his callous personality, he could take any pain, it was how he was able to deal with The Potter's death and other life changing events. Yet this was not working in his current state, and he could not understand why.

Although Sirius had been in a few fights this semester with his best friends, and in those fights he had always made peace with them, he was finding it harder to keep those agreements. He knew he could not be angry at James anymore for dating Lily, but he was still jealous. After the Potters' had died, James was his only family, and now he was loosing him to a girl. He knew it would happen eventually; it was only a matter of time before James grew up and found a serious girlfriend. Lily was perfect for James, hell he would not be surprised if the two of them got married, but just because his friend was able to get down to business with his life did not mean Sirius was ready for the transition. He knew he should grow up, but he was not ready for that step. Sure, he wanted real love from someone of the opposite sex, but Sirius was not sure what real love was. He knew how to love as friends, but love of as if they were part of your family. Although James was his family, it was more of a brotherly love then family ties.

Sirius shook his head, he could not explain to himself how to distinguish the two forms of love, but he knew there was a difference.

"God Dammit," Sirius said, throwing on hand against his wall. He hated feeling like this, he needed a walk.

Sirius's mind stayed blank as he walked aimlessly around Hogwarts; in fact, had it not been for the faint scream of a girl from one of the corners of the school he might have wandered himself into trouble. Sirius did not know the voice he heard in the hallway, but as he looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, he found that although there were only a few people close to him, none of them seemed to hear the noise. It seemed Sirius's quiet manner had brought out his dog like senses. Without another thought, Sirius walked briskly to the sound of the voice; he wanted to get their quickly and yet not draw attention to it.

* * *

"Damn statues," Lily cursed to herself as she picked up some pieces of a broken fairy statue.

Lily had always been clumsy, but this was the first time she had fallen down the ladder leading from the divination classroom. Lily had taken a year of divination and realized that it was simply not the subject for her. After much convincing to Dumbledore, she switched out of the class. Lily was not the type of girl to give up on anything, especially when it came to academics, but this class was simply impossible. As a muggleborn, Lily was fascinated with the idea of being able to foretell the future, but after the first few classes, she learned that very few people had the inner eye. Lily tried time after time again to enhance her knowledge of divination, but no matter how hard she studied, she never got any better. It may have taken awhile, and the right answer to her problem was not the one she wanted to find, but Lily eventually learned that divination was the one subject that if a person was not predisposed to do well in, they would not succeed. Books did not hold the answer in this area of study, and it saddened Lily to realize this.

It was this fact, the knowledge that she had not climbed down the divination steps in a few years, which made it okay in Lily's mind that she fell down them and onto a statue. This statue did not seem to hold any magical abilities for it did not attempt to catch Lily or move out of the way as she fell. Lily was also beginning to think that her fall and slight scream had gone unnoticed when a man glided down the ladder next to Lily; it was the divination teacher Professor Levinthal.

The man walked past Lily for a few seconds and then turned to her and spoke, even though to Lily it seemed like Levinthal was speaking through her rather than to her, "The night will come when you will have to make a choice, between blood and ties. Beware the one who speaks the righteous words, for he speaks the words of fate. Defy fate, defy prophesy, defy death."

After Levinthal's bizarre statement, he traveled to a nearby doorway to find a slightly panting Sirius and spoke again, "Trust thyself and no one else but those with fur and teeth. Rat the one out who speaks ill of friends and not foe; trap the traitor in a mouse trap before he gives in to darkness."

With those words, he left Sirius and Lily bewildered and confused. The two stayed in their position for a few minutes until Sirius realized why he had ran all the way to the divination classroom.

"Lily" he said, walking to his best friend's girlfriend, "was that you who screamed before?"

"Yeah," Lily said as Sirius helped her off of the floor, "I just fell down the ladder, my usual clumsy self."

Sirius laughed at bit at Lily, but soon stopped when he realized who he was joking with. This was the girl who took his best friend from him. Lily was the monster in his dreams that kept his body restless and his mind tormented. She was a terror whose only real words to him were screams. She constantly yelled at him for everything he did, though sometimes Sirius would admit he did deserve it. She broke up many pranks, turned the Marauders in when they did things wrong, and, perhaps worst of all, she was the reason the four Marauders had turned into three. Sirius hated this girl with all the passions for his soul, yet as he looked at her, almost helpless on the floor, all his hate seemed to melt away. It was easy to hate someone when you did not have to be around them, but when you saw them face to face, the hatred was hard to hold on to.

"Well," Sirius said, breaking the silence between the two and after he spoke he knew he broke her from her thoughts. Sirius wondered if she was thinking the same thing as him. "What are you doing down here anyway? I thought you dropped divination?"

"I did," Lily said, "but I was looking for Cora. We were supposed to study charms together, since she claims she is horrible at the subject, but I think otherwise. I think she just gets nervous when she is put on the stop in class, 'cause when I get together with her she is fine. But anyway, I was looking for her and I know she sometimes comes up here, but she is not here today I guess."

"Ah," Sirius said, "well shall we then get away from this place, it fills me with bad memories."

Lily laughed a bit at Sirius words, "Yeah, but Levinthal was more funny then horrible. I mean, divination is a really interesting subject, but he took it to the max."

"You don't believe in telling the future?" Sirius asked as the two began walking away from the classroom.

"I do to an extent," Lily said, a bit ashamed of the fact that she liked the subject which most people despised and did not believe in, "because I still believe that people are free to make their own choices."

"Good," Sirius said matter-of-factly, "I think seers are all rubbish. I mean once in a blue moon one makes a correct prediction or so, but most are rubbish."

Lily took in everything that Sirius said before she even attempted to speak again. He said his words with such conviction that it almost seemed he had a personal vendetta against seers. Lily wanted to ask him about it, and had it been anyone but Sirius she would of, but this was the boy who was still jealous about her going out with his best friend. Besides the fact that Lily still hated him for all his antics around school, the two were simply too different to get along. Of course, Lily thought in the back of her mind, that was the same thing she told herself about James a year ago.

Bringing in all of her courage she asked Sirius the question that was on the tip of her tongue, "Why do you hate them so much?"

Sirius was a bit surprised by her words but played it off as if he was not bothered by her sudden interest in his personal life, "It's a long story."

"Well it is nice a day, we could go for a walk," the words slipped out of her mouth before she realized that she was speaking to Sirius. Lily had not had a decent conversation with him since as long as she could remember. Sirius was her enemy, or at least a person she did not want to be in contact with on a day to day basis, yet here she was, asking him to go for a walk.

Sirius must have been thinking the same thing for he stopped dead in his tracks and said, "Since when do you care Lily? Besides, you never wanted to hear my side of the story anyway, so why would you even care."

"Sirius, you have not exactly been the nicest person to me either!" Lily said, easily getting her temper back, "I'm just trying to be nice here, but you jump up and get all defensive."

"I'm not being defensive!"

"Yes you are! What are you trying to hide Sirius? What could possibly be so bad in your life that makes you like this?"

"You," Sirius said, his voice becoming low and stern, "have no idea about me or my past. You are in no position to question why I do anything. You have no idea why I am the way that I am."

"Well it's not my fault now is it? So what if you were a bad kid who was punished all the time, you probably deserved it."

Lily would later tell herself that she had never said anything so mean to such a caring person, but that would not be for a year, but now she only felt a small amount of guilt for what she had just said. She knew it was mean, but Sirius was really starting to piss her off. Everything he said just made her so mad! Yet, as Lily watched as Sirius' face turned from stern and angry to hurt, she felt worse for what she had said.

"You know, if you were not a girl," Sirius said before punching the wall and taking the staircase that led outside.

Lily watched in shock as Sirius walked away from her. Guilt and hurt flashed through her veins and even though she did not want to do it, she knew she had to. She had to apologize. It was the first time she could remember her being the bringer of doom and hurt in a verbal fight, and it made her feel awful. She may have not liked Sirius, but he deserved better treatment then what she had given him. Yet still a part of her could not forget what he had said about his hard life. Lily knew that Sirius had been living with James for a while, but she had never thought it was because of his family. Maybe something did happen to him in his youth that caused him to act like he did. With this though, Lily walked briskly in Sirius' wake, to find out the story behind the mask.

* * *

Lily found Sirius sitting by the lake, simply watching the water move in its slow and elegant way. This was a side of Sirius she had never seen, and she was not sure if she wanted to see it. It was so easy to stay mad at Sirius when he was acting immature and unreasonable, but now that he was showing emotions of a saddened and hurt soul, it was harder for Lily to be cold toward him.

Lily carefully walked over to Sirius, she did not want to startle him; she did not want him to run away again. When she finally reached him she had the feeling that even though he knew she was coming, he did not move, a thought that made Lily feel a little bit better about the situation; even though he was mad at her, he was willing to talk. Lily sat next to him and the two of them just sat on the ground for a few minutes, not speaking to each other. The silence was a way for each party to think about what he or she was going to say, and what this strange encounter between the two meant for the future.

Lily was the first to speak, "I'm sorry I said those things to you, about you and your family."

Sirius did not answer her, but he did move his head to the ground, and indication to Lily that he had heard and was absorbing what she said.

"I was angry at you and I couldn't control what was coming out of my mouth. I'm sorry," Lily said, moving closer to the boy and facing him.

Sirius gave her a quick glance before he spoke, "You were pretty harsh, especially for things you don't know anything about."

"Well maybe if you talked about the things that bothered you in your past."

"Nothing is bothering me," Sirius said, a defensive tone in his voice coming up again.

Lily sighed, this was going to be harder then she thought. Obviously something had happened to him in the past he did not want to remember, but it seemed he could not forget it. Lily was not sure if it was the reason why he was such a reckless person, but it definitely had to do with the way he was acting now.

Carefully, Lily spoke again, "What happened to you is none of my business, and you have all the right in the world to keep it to yourself, but keeping problems bottled up inside is not healthy. Maybe you can't talk to me, but you can talk to James or Remus or-"

"I can't talk to them," Sirius said, cutting Lily off, "Why would I tell the only people who make me happy what is bothering me, it will only bring down their spirits. Besides, they are the only family I have, and the things I have done before I knew them…they would never forgive me. And anyway, James is too worked up with other things, Remus and me have never been the same since a fight we had last year, and Peter would probably ask Remus or James for what to tell me to do to get over the stuff that is bothering me."

Lily was a little shocked by what Sirius had said; she had not expected him to tell her anything like this. Maybe he trusted her, or maybe he was so desperate to let out what he felt that whoever left out the beast had to hear the whole story. Yet even besides that, Lily never thought Sirius could speak like this, let alone feel these things. She was finally seeing the side of the boy whom James knew and loved, and the side of the boy that made him human, no matter how many layers of immaturity it was buried under.

"Sirius I know we don't get along well, but I am always here to vent to. I won't give you advice or anything, unless you want it, but I can be an ear to listen to you."

"I don't need to bother you with my ramblings of the past," Sirius said, drawing in the dirt with his finger. "It's done and over with, I just haven't been able to get over everything. I don't even live in that house anymore, so I don't know why I can't forget it."

"Some things we aren't supposed to forget," Lily said, letting the small breeze over the lake blow her hair a little bit, "I think that somethings are supposed to happen to us, like if they didn't happen we would be a different person. The person we might have been could have been evil and menacing, but now we are kind and loving because we suffered. It's not from the good times, but from the bad times, that teach us to be honest and loving to those around us."

Sirius let a small and short laugh leave his mouth, "That was pretty poetic."

"Well I can't take credit for it," Lily said, a small laugh escaping her as well, "Cora said that to us after her parents died. We didn't know what to say to her and then she comes out with these words that were so profound…"

"I didn't know her parents died," Sirius said.

"Yeah, she tried to keep it quiet. Plus it was before all these other murders started happening, so it was not as big of a deal as all the killings are now."

"Oh," Sirius said.

The two sat in silence again, and Lily knew Sirius was thinking about what he wanted her to know and what he did not want her to know. Lily was not expecting Sirius to open up to her right away, but she hoped that he would eventually trust her enough to talk about her everything that bothered him. She knew some stuff he would never tell, for in every person's life there are things someone would rather live with the pain of the memory then recall it again to someone else, but she hoped he would open his heart and let her in. In Lily's mind it almost made sense why he did the things he did. Why he played with girls instead of having a relationship with them or why he acted crazy all the time. It seems that if he was drawing attention away from himself, no one would see the imperfection in his life. And if he did not have a relationship with anyone but still be intimate with them, he could get the love he needed to feel from others while still keeping them distanced from his true self. Sirius made sense in her mind now, and other people would see it to if they took the time to see the prince beneath the beast.

Sirius then reached over to Lily and embraced her in a hug. To say she was surprised by this action was an understatement; had she been standing she might have fallen on the ground. Without really thinking she gently hugged him back, but she was still unsure of what he wanted her to do. Lily and Sirius had never gotten along before this moment, and now here they were, hugging in front of a portion of the student body. Of course this would get around school and eventually people would start the rumor that Lily was cheating on James for Sirius, but none of the Marauders or Lily's friends would believe these words. The people that mattered in Lily and Sirius's life knew that James and Lily cared too much about each other to risk their love on a one night stand.

When Sirius let go of Lily, he kept his hands on the upper part of her arm and leaned down and kissed her forehead. He then leaned his forehead against hers and said, "No wonder James loves you so much."

With that, Sirius got up and began walking to his tree on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, but before he got far he turned around and said, "Next time, just spend some time with the four of us, instead of just James all the time. I'm not the only boy feeling left out some of the time."

Lily may have taken his last words as an insult, but Sirius said them with a smile and also with a soft undertone to his voice; his words were simply telling her the issues the other boys had. Had the two not had the talk they had just had, she may have followed him to his tree, but she knew he wanted to be alone. Besides, Lily wanted to talk to James about something. So with that thought, Lily got up off the ground and walked into the school, a much happier person then she had left.

* * *

A/N: I am much happier with this chapter then the last one I posted. This one is almost 4000 words and I just like the way it is reading. The first part may be a bit choppy, but I like the rest a lot. I know people may think this is a pointless chapter, but I wanted to have Lily and Sirius getting along before they left Hogwarts. After all, if Sirius is Harry's godfather then that means that Lily and James were close to Sirius.

Anyway, next chapter should be up soon. I am going to try and post at least once a month, but it might be sooner then that since I am so excited about the new book and movie coming out that sometimes all I can think about it Harry Potter. Writing this story gives me my fill of Harry Potter! It is wonderful! Oh, and next chapter lots of Lily and James and maybe some Lily and Remus (or maybe L/R will be in the chapter after that…I will figure that out as I write the chapter.

Oh and please review this chapter, I only got three reviews for the last chapter I wrote, but I guess that is my fault too. I have been a bad writer and have not been writing. Please review though…it makes me want to write more!

The three of you that did review! I love you guys!!

PadfootandProngs91: I always love hearing from you! We have not talked in a while, we really should!

flying.high.forever. : I'm glad you are still reading! Much love!

glowing-ice: haha, you're very funny! I am glad to here from you too, you were one of my first readers. So glad I have not lost you!


	36. Right in Front of Your Nose

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

"_None so deaf as those that will not hear,  
None so blind as those that will not see."  
-Matthew Henry_

**Chapter 36: Right in Front of Your Nose**

Lily swiftly ran up the staircases into the library to meet James, although she had not planned to meet with him today, she knew where he was since he had informed her last night that he would be studying all day for the NEWTS. It had surprised her that he had started studying for the exam already; apparently he was not as ego-driven as she had once believed. Even since his parents' death, James had become more obsessed with continuing in his father's footsteps in becoming an auror. Lily found it quite cute that James was acting responsible and actually planning his life rather than seeing where the wind took him. Lily loved this new part of James she was discovering, but she also greatly envied him. Although Lily had applied to auror school, since all of her teachers told her she would be a prime candidate for it, but she was not sure she wanted that life. It was not war that was going on that bothered her or the thought that she may die in battle; it was the simple knowledge that at almost 18 years old she had to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

This feeling of uncertainty was something new in Lily's life. For all of her life she had always had everything planned out, but now, during her greatest need for organization all her ideas had vanished. If she got into auror school, she believed she would go in. If anything it was a way of procrastinating; for as long as she was in school Lily had more time to find out what she wanted to do with her life. In her mind she wanted to do everything. She wanted to teach, since she had always had a calling for working with little children, yet part of Lily always wanted to be a healer and help those in grave danger (to get into healer school was another application she was waiting to hear back from), and then again their was the option of being an auror. After a talk with McGonagall, she had told Lily that the world was at her fingertips, in other words because of Lily's grades it was possible for her to do pretty much what ever she wanted. Lily sometimes wished she only had one option, because with everything in the world to choose from she could not decide on one profession.

Maybe there was another purpose to Lily's life, something so great that no amount of school would ever prepare her for? Lily was not sure if she wanted such an unpredictable life, but yet maybe that type of excitement was something she truly wanted. Maybe it was almost a thirst she hungered for. Could that be why she was going out with James? Was it the idea that he was a guy she would never have considered dating and loving a few years ago? Lily had spent her whole life planning everything out, yet now that she was acting more spontaneous and doing some things she would never do and she was so much happier.

Upon entering the library and finding James and Cora sitting at a table together, Lily thought to herself that she would see what life had in store for her. She would let life show her a sign in what she was meant to do with her life; she would let her destiny come to her and simply live for the day no matter what came her way.

"Hey James, Cora," Lily said, sitting next to the two. It was while she was sitting that she remembered she had promised Cora that they would study together, "Oh Cora, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about us getting together."

"It's okay," Cora said, waving Lily's distress off with her hand, "I found James in here and he helped me with Transfiguration. So the study session was not a complete waste."

Cora smiled as Lily said her next words, "I'm so so sorry."

"It's really okay Lily," Cora said, getting her books together, "Look I have to run anyway. We can just study tomorrow or something. And you can make it up to me by getting dinner tonight at the kitchens."

"Deal," Lily said with a smile, "See ya later Cora."

"Bye buddy," Cora said with a smile as she left the library. Cora really did not have anywhere to go, but she figured Lily and James did not want her hanging around when they were together. Even though neither of them would ever say it, she knew that is what they secretly longer for in their hearts.

* * *

"Oh I feel so bad," Lily said, putting her elbows on the table and running her hands against her face. 

"She doesn't seem to be bothered by it too much Lils," James said, pulling Lily's hands off of her face. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said moving in and catching Lily in a short but meaningful kiss.

"I hope you're right," Lily said with a slight smile, "That girl drives me up the wall sometimes. I mean I love her dearly, but sometimes I just can't figure her out."

"You are stressing over this too much," James said, reaching over and allowing his finger to play with a strand of her long auburn hair. "Cora is one of your best friends, she will understand. Besides," he said taking his hand away from Lily's hair and then crossing his arms against his chest and leaning on the back to legs of the chair, "she has probably forgotten everything that has happened by now."

Lily thought about James's words for a second and then responding realizing the little importance of her stress, "You're right," she said with a smile, "Cora is sensible, I don't know why I even worry about that girl."

"That's my girl," James said with a short and low chuckle, as he went back to sitting on the four legs of the chair. "So what's up?"

"Nothing," Lily said, avoiding James's gaze and looking away from him. After staring at the wall next to her for a little bit, she turned around to see James starring at her with a look in his eye that told her that he knew she was lying.

"Alright," Lily said, throwing her hands up in defeat, "There is something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" James asked with a little concern in his voice. Lily was never one to be afraid to ask him anything, well at least since they had seen close.

Lily and James close, the idea seemed far from possible a year ago, but now it felt like they would never be apart. Ever since James saw her during their first year on the Hogwarts express, he thought she was gorgeous; even at eleven when his mind was far from the idea of dating. As time went on, and dating became a more important issue in James's life, he tried everyway he knew to try to get her attention. Sometimes he would try a little too hard and she would get mad and yell at him, but still in his mind as long as she was acknowledging him it was better than being ignored. He continued this behavior, behaving in pompous and immature ways, since he figured, like most girls, they would eventually give into his charm and the bad boy persona but Lily was different. She did not care how many people he hexed or how many detentions he got, she only cared about who he or any other boy was on the inside. Not that Lily did not enjoy the occasional hexing when it was deserved, for she had a few up her sleeve if the time ever came to use them, she simply did not see it as a way to impress someone. It took James until his sixth year to figure that out.

It was during this year that James decided to take some action because he realized that he really did love Lily. It was not the kind of love that Lily believed it was, an obsession that only grew as she kept ignoring his pleas, he really did have feelings for her and he wanted to show her this. James started with the basics, as it is the only thing a person can do when two people are not in a relationship, but it was not enough. Lily was not fooled by his kindness to her, for she had told him that year that in order to be kind you must show it to everyone. And that is what James did over the summer before his seventh and last year of Hogwarts. It was his last chance to show Lily what she really meant to him.

That moment seemed so long ago now, for as he sat and watched as Lily struggled to ask her question, he felt more love for her then he ever thought he could feel. He sometimes hated what she did to him, for if she tried she could probably get him to get anything for her, but he knew even though she had this power she never welded it. That alone made her a great person, she had great power but never felt the need to use it and he greatly respected her for that.

Lily spoke slowly, taking James out of his thoughts, "Well, I was wondering what you were planning to do the weekend after we graduate?"

James looked at his girlfriend a little strangely, for the question was not what he had expected, "Not sure. Hanging out with you and the guys, since, baring we get into it, we start auror training that Wednesday. Why?"

"Never mind then," Lily said, not wanting to bother him with the request she kept in her mind.

"Just tell me," James said, almost pleading with her, "If it is this big of a deal I would like to know anyway."

Lily just looked at him and caught his hazel eyes in a stare. She took in a breath before she spoke, she should have known he would have made her tell him even if he was busy or did not want to go.

"Well," Lily signed before she spoke again, "My sister is moving into a new house that weekend and she is celebrating with having everyone over for brunch. Plus my mom figured while everyone is there she should have a little graduation party for me. My mom said I could bring someone with me, and I was just wondering if you wanted to come?"

Lily looked at her hands in her lap as she waited for James's response, which came quicker than she expected, "Of course."

Lily felt a smile come to her lips that reached her eyes as he said these words, "Really? Because you don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I want to go. Besides I would love to meet more of your family, and see more of your parents." He said with a smile.

"Thank you James. I mean, I really don't get along with Petunia. We are just completely different people forced to be sisters, but she is still my sister and I love her so I want to go. Plus my mother hates it when the two of us fight. Sometimes I think she is the only one keeping us from destroying each other." Lily said with a slight laugh at the end of her statement.

"Understandable. And, you forgot, that since I will be there I can distract you if things get crazy."

Lily smacked the side of his arm.

"What, it is true!" James said, rubbing his arm and pretending it hurt.

"Oh you're such a baby," Lily said with a smile, "But I love you anyway," she continued before giving him a kiss.

The two sat in the library for a few minutes until Lily said they should leave, since they were already creating a ruckus for talking in the library as long as they were.

"But I have to ask you," James said once they were out of the library doors, "Why were you so nervous to ask me if I wanted to go?"

Lily laughed to herself before she spoke, "I don't know, I guess I just figured after the last visit you would be sick of my father and his questions."

"Nah," James said, taking her hand in his, "They weren't that bad before, and they can't be worse with lots of people around."

"Once again," Lily said with a laugh as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room, "you underestimate my father."

* * *

A few minutes earlier…. 

"Hey Cora," Remus said, as he saw Lily's friend leave the library at the same time as him.

"Hey…Remus," Cora said, feeling a little off guard at who was talking to her. Remus may have been the nicest marauder, but he does not really talk to people besides the three boys and Lily.

"How are you?"

"Fine, you?"

"Besides studying like crazy, I'm doing pretty good."

The two then fell into silence as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room together. Cora was not sure what to say to Remus, but she felt that she was not the one who wanted to talk for why else would Remus run up to her as she was leaving the library. Cora looked at him for a second, only to find him looking at her as well. Cora smiled at Remus to try to flag off the awkwardness, but still the silence spoke uncomfortable words into both of the party's ears.

Remus finally broke the silence about half way to the dormitory, "So what were you doing studying in the library all by yourself, where were Lily and Kyra?"

Cora looked at him strangely wondering whether he meant to ask her an odd question or if it was just a way to create conversation, "Well I was supposed to study with Lily, but I am not sure what happened with that, but then I saw James and he helped me with Transfiguration since I am horrible at the subject. And Kyra, well I am not sure where that girl is, she is always running around with some guy."

Cora was going to ask him why he was in the library, but she felt it would be inappropriate. Of course, after she had answered his question and did not ask another in return, the uncomfortable silence came back and she felt then that not saying anything was even more inappropriate.

"Why are you so worried about that class, you are better than most people?" Remus said, not sounding offended by Cora not asking him a question.

"Well I have to get high marks on the Transfiguration and Defense. I know the written part really well, but where I am applying to cares more about the practical part of the exam than the written."

"Where are you applying?"

Cora took in a breathe before she spoke again, half in shock that she was telling a marauder what she was doing after Hogwarts before Lily and Kyra knew. "Do you remember when we were learning about complex dueling?"

"You mean do I remember when you sent Median flying across the room?" Remus said with a little bit of humor in his voice, "Then yes I do remember."

"Well," Cora said, shaking off his first comment, "She said I had the talent to be a complex dueler, so I am going to school for two years, I think, to this school in France."

"You are a complex dueler? Congratulations, your parents must be so excited."

Cora looked at him with a heavy heart but quickly sent it away with a smile, "Well my parents died last year, but I'm pretty proud, no matter how shocked I was to hear it was me and not anyone else."

"I'm sorry about your parents," Remus said, as he stopped walking and Cora in response to his action stopped as well.

"Thanks, but we're getting into a war now. I may have been one of the first to lose their parents in the war, but now it is becoming more common." Cora said sadly.

"That is true, but that still doesn't mean you can't be upset about it. The war is destroying families everywhere. People are dying every day. That's why I want to be an auror, if I can get into the training program."

"I don't think that will be a problem for you," Cora said, leaning against the railing of the staircase, "You are one of the brightest people in this school. You could give a few of the professors a run for their money, I wouldn't worry about it."

"Well grades aren't the problem," Remus said, not wanting to go into detail about how being a werewolf may keep him from being accepted into the intense training program.

Cora looked at him strangely for a minute and then understood what he meant, "I doubt they will keep you out because of that."

"What?" Remus asked, a little shocked by her statement.

"Look Remus, don't think any less of me," like he probably could at his point Cora thought after she spoke, "I know about," she looked about to see if anyone was listening, "your monthly problem."

"What?," Remus said, stepping back from her and leaned against the railing across of Cora.

Thoughts raced through Remus's head. Did she know his secret? Did she tell people? Remus did not think Cora was one to go around spreading rumors about people, especially the way Lily talked about how trustworthy she was with everything she was told. Yet still Remus' heart started to beat at a faster rate until she spoke again.

"I know," Cora said, moving in close to his ear and whispering, "that you're a werewolf."

Remus went pale at her words, it seemed more people were learning his secret this year and every time they did it made him feel sick. If word got out that he was a werewolf, people would start to resent him for it. He was lucky enough to have found friends that cared about him even though he had this condition. The rest of the world would not be so accepting and Remus was trying to ready himself for the fight to live an honest life. He knew it would be a struggle to get a decent job and for people to trust him in general. He did not know if he was strong enough to face the fury of others, but he would have to face it whether he was ready for it or not. Yet Remus did not except to have people know his secret until he was out of Hogwarts, with the population of Hogwarts slowly getting to know his secret (even though it was only Lily and Cora) he felt more uncomfortable walking in the halls of the school.

Trying to get back to his senses, Remus spoke, "How did you find out?"

"Well a little while ago Lily was trying to figure out what was wrong with you. She kept noticing you disappearing and stuff. She kept records of when you got sick and I used to just listen to her trying to figure it all out. She only discussed it with me, so don't worry, no one else knows. Then one day she stopped talking about it, so I continued trying to figure it out and one day it just clicked. It was the only logical answer."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"Why would I do that? This isn't something you want out in the open," Cora said with a slight smile.

Remus was going to say thanks when the staircase suddenly moved sending Cora crashing into Remus. She immediately got off on him once the stairs stopped moving, but she did feel her face get a little red from the contact.

"Sorry," Cora said, not looking at him.

"It's okay," Remus said, "Let's head back shall we?"

"Yeah," Cora said as the two walked back in silence.

Once the two arrived at the common room entrance Remus said the password and the two walked to the break in the room that separated the stairways from the girls and boys dorm.

"Well it was good talking to you," Remus said to her, "and thanks for not saying anything."

"Yeah, of course" Cora said, still thinking about the irony of her current situation, "It was nice to bump into you."

"Maybe we will bump into each other again," Remus said with a smile, "See you later," and then left her at the base of her stairs.

Cora watched as he climbed the stairs to his room and once he was out of sight, she ran upstairs to her room. She could not make sense of it, why had he started talking to her. But if there was one thing she learned about Remus, it was that he was the strongest person she knew. She was jealous that he was worse off then anyone else she knew and yet he was optimistic for the future. She was jealous of him, and this only made her feel worse about herself. She was not as strong as he was and she had not been through half the things he had been. With her weakness and jealously in mind, she went to her bed and dealt with the pain of hatred toward herself the only way she knew how.

* * *

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait; I promise I have not given up on this story yet! I have just been really busy with school since it is coming close to the end of the semester and everything is due all at once. School is crazy as is life, so this story just never got around to be written. But things are beginning to cool down so I should have the next story up in about three weeks or so, but if not don't kill me please. College is not treating me nicely these days. Oh and sorry this chapter sucks…I don't think it is that good. Maybe next time it will be better…I think some Lily and Remus stuff is in order as well as some girl and guys times.

Oh and just to let you all know, this chapter was done a dew days ago but fanfiction would not let me upload the document. It was weird. But now it is working so it is okay:)

Thanks for all that reviewed, I got lots this time and that makes me smile and write more. I swear, without you guys I would have given up on this story a long time ago.

Quidditchstar2291: My parents used to go crazy for me being on the computer all the time. But I am glad you like my story and boy you read a lot in one sitting.

glowing-ice: Sirius and Lily eventually needed to get along, I mean since he was the Potters secret keeper (or at least supposed to be) Lily had to trust him too, because we all know if Lily didn't want something she did something about it J

Aria Sparks: Peter is often forgotten, sadly, and I am guilty of that rule as well. I will include him soon though, I have to in order to make the story fit. But I am bad writer for forgetting him…

fanficangel513: Sirius is an interesting character…he is complex and does things for some strange reason no one really gets…at least that is what I see with him.

Jackie: yes some parts are pretty cheesy, especially in the beginning when I was just starting out. I think me later chapters are much better though.

ThomCat: Thanks, it always makes me feel good about myself when someone tells me I am a good writer

Leah: a deviant art fan! I have not been on that site for a while, it seems I have been ignoring everything lately! I am bad with grammar, especially now since I focus on grammar so much with my college papers I don't pay attention here as much…I am horrible in that aspect. I'm glad you liked my little predictions…they were fun to write!

Quidditchstar2291: she will ask him about that eventually as will she find out more about all of the maunders past…but not just yet.

Thanks again you guys!


	37. The Importance of Unimportance

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

"_It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."  
-Ralph Waldo Emerson_

**Chapter 37: The Importance of Unimportance**

It was the first week of May and although exams were exactly a month a way, many seventh and fifth year students were camping out in the library, for compared to the exams of the other students their's meant the most. The Marauders and Lily and her gang of friends were no different, and could often been seen in this part of the building. To the rest of the school, it seemed the Marauders had lost their touch and reputation, for no huge prank had been played out for a very long time; the students were starting to lose faith in the thing that kept them smiling everyday while the teachers were starting to believe the boys were starting to grow up. Yet in these dark times, it was clear from the expressions on the students' and staffs' faces that sometimes a little laughter was a good thing, for the world outside of Hogwarts was struggling to hold together. Friends were turning against friends and enemies from a person's past were popping up everywhere. No one was safe from the horrors going on the wizarding world. Even the students and teachers in Hogwarts, who were pretty much safe from harm because of all the magical barriers protecting the school, they were on their toes looking for threats in the school; for although the school was protected from the outside if a traitor was on the inside there was nothing stopping them from taking down the entire school. With all of this in mind, it seemed some of the staff wished the Marauders would cause some mischief, for there were few things to smile about anymore.

What the staff and students did not know was that the marauders were having problems of their own. To Moony, Padfoot, and Wormtail, their friend James, who could sometimes be seen as the leader of the pack, was often too busy to hang out with his guy friends anymore. Every time they planned something to do as the gang, he would break the plans because he was spending time with Lily or he would have to complete Head Boy duties. Remus was becoming more distant from the group, for in his mind the idea of leaving safe and secure Hogwarts to go out in the real world where people like him were not accepted was a real life nightmare. Peter was disappearing at strange hours during the night, but the rest of the quad figured he was off at the kitchens every night or getting in some extra studying before the exams. Of course Sirius thought that Peter was having a secret love affair with another student, but the other three thought that although it was possible, they also knew that the only thing that was ever on Sirius's mind was girls and sex so secret love affairs were the answer to everything. Which brings us to Sirius, who was tired of the being the only real Marauder that wanted to cause mischief, and decided to find his own form of trouble. He was with different girls every week, something he had not done since the beginning of his sixth year. But now the situation was worse than ever because since his family of friends was starting to fall apart, he clung to other things that brought him love. Girls and pranks, they were the things that kept him sane, at least as sane as Sirius Black could be.

Yet still, Sirius Black wondered why he did the things he did. The excuse of his family and their treatment toward him was his age old excuse, but could he really blame them anymore? He had officially left the house and had spent much time with the Potter's, whom he considered his real family because they were the only ones who had ever showed him the love and loyalty all families have for each other. Sirius hated thinking about his past, but he had to face it one day and get over the fact that just because his parents did not love him the way parents should did not mean he had the authority to live a miserable life. He knew his antics were immature, but they were the only ways he knew how to forget about the past. He would have to grow up one day, but that day was not now and as he sat in the common room by himself at about two in the morning, he knew that the day he would have to grow up would be soon for the war was making people grow up faster, but he was letting youth live on as long as he could get away with it..

"What are you doing up?" Kyra asked, coming down from the girls' stairway to find Sirius sitting on the couch facing the fire.

"Nothing," Sirius said, shifting in his seat and knocking the bad thoughts of his past out of his head.

There was a silence between the two as Sirius stared at the fire and Kyra moved to lean against the wall and then stared at the fire as well. The silence was awkward, as the two had not really spoken since their breakup. It was sad in Kyra's eyes, for the two had been so close at just in the beginning of the year, and now although they had agreed to be friends again simply because they knew in the hostile world outside that it was only right for them to stick together, their relationship was still not the same.

After a few more moments of silence, Kyra spoke again still staring at the fire, "What happened to us?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, not looking at Kyra.

Kyra looking down at her feet as she spoke her next words, "We used to be really close and then we had a fight, and now we never talk."

"The reason we don't talk is because you stopped talking," Sirius said, turning to face her.

"Don't blame this on me Black, you cheated on me for some Mary Sue who just wanted to get in bed with you." Kyra said loudly walking over to where Sirius was sitting.

"Kyra," Sirius said putting his hands on his face, "I'm really not in the mood to talk about this right now."

"Oh really," Kyra said, moving in front of him so that she blocked the fire he was staring at, "When will this be convenient for you Black? When you are with your friends and can bullshit your way out of having a real conversation? Tell me; please enlighten me on when it is good for you!"

"Kyra," Sirius said, looking her dead in the eye, but then quickly turning away from her sharp gaze, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry is going to change what happened Black."

"Kyra what do you want me to say?" He said looking at her again, "First you come off at being all upset that we don't talk anymore and aren't great friends, and then you proceed to shout at me. You don't make sense. Do you want to yell at me or start trying to get along again?"

"I just want to get it through your head that you can't treat people like this that you supposedly care about," Kyra said, sitting next to Sirius on the couch.

Sirius did not answer her; he just stared at his feet lost in thought. He never really knew how to treat the people he loved for he was shown love too late in his life. Tough love was the only love present in his family, and even though the Potter's and his friends loved and cared for him, it was still not the same as unsaid family love. He knew how he should act around the people that he loved, but he was not sure how to keep his young experience of love out of his life. Love in his family was the survival of the fittest, and no other person seemed to realize that he was brought up with the idea that a person had to work to be loved, it was not something people were just given. The love he knew would keep him alive longer, but it made his life that much colder.

"I know," he said.

"No you don't know Sirius," Kyra said, returning to her normal speech and referring to him by his first name, "I can't understand how you can keep doing this? How do you reason this behavior?"

"I don't know," Sirius said, but he did know, but he was not about to tell her his life story for she would not truly understand.

"You have to know why you do this," she said sincerely.

Sirius stayed quiet for a few minutes before he spoke again, "Look I know I hurt you and I know we will never be as close as we were, but I really don't want to stay mad at you anymore. Not that I am mad at you, more like mad at myself, but I really miss our night talks and how we could tell each other almost anything."

"Yeah me too," Kyra said.

"Well this is sort of breaking the ice," Sirius said with a slight smile.

Kyra smiled, "I guess so."

The two sat there in silence just staring at the fire burning. The two had created a rift between each other that could never be fully mended, but they knew they would one day have to get over their differences. They wanted to have things be the way they were before and although they knew it was impossible, they hoped for the best.

Sirius broke the silence with a question that had been driving his mind crazy, "Why did you come down here anyway? Looking for something?"

"I just couldn't sleep and I figured you might be here," she said smiling at him.

"Really," he said smiling at her.

Kyra nudged him slightly before she said, "Don't get all cocky on me Sirius."

"I'll try not to," he said with a laugh.

"Shut up," she said with a smile, "Well I guess I should head to bed, I have an early class tomorrow."

"Sucks for you," Sirius said as the two got up from the couch.

"Well maybe I will see you tomorrow, or the next time I can't sleep," Kyra said.

"You know I never sleep," he said with a smile and the two disappeared into their separate staircases.

* * *

The next few days had gone by fast for Lily, between Head Girl duties, James, and studying, she felt like she did not have anytime to really think. Life was coming at her fast, and even though she was planning ahead for the world, she did not think she was actually ready. Life was more complicated than Lily had ever expected it to be. Plans did not always work and Lily was learning that the hard way. But she was also learning that life was more than being successful in a career, it was about living for today and making stupid decisions. Life was about having fun.

Lily was taken out of her thoughts when a familiar voice called to her from the hallway, "Hey Lily!"

"Remus," she said smiling turning to see him running after her, "How are you?"

"I've been doing well," he answered once he was next to her, "How are you?"

"Busy but well," she said with a smile.

"Yeah I guess that is me too," he smiled back at her, "We haven't talked in while have we?"

Lily laughed a small but prominent laugh, "It's been crazy Remus."

"I know," he said, "but look I have to go tutor one of the fifth year's right now, but we should meet up sometime, get some hot chocolate or something."

She smiled, "Hot chocolate is the best drink to have when sharing old stories."

"Yeah, I just wanted to start talking to you again. I know Sirius has been really upfront about how he feels, but he isn't the only one who feels like he is being abandoned."

"Remus-"

"And I know you are in love with James and I am not saying you should not be happy with spending all your time with him, but you have to see that your friends are still here. You may have found a different outlet to let out your grief and excitement, but we still have the same ways to have fun."

Lily looked at her feet. She knew she had been ignoring her friends since her relationship started, but Remus was the last person she ever thought she would get a speech from.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry Lily," he said, starting to back away from her, "Just figure out what you want in life. Not that one thing is more important than the other; just know how to organize your priorities."

Lily was then left as he walked briskly away from her. Remus always knew how to say the right thing and he always had a reason for what he said and did. Lily could write off Sirius's complaints for he was the most dramatic out of the group, but Remus's worries could not be thrown off that easily. Had she changed? She knew she was spending a lot of time with James, but she did not think it was affecting her friendships. Maybe she was being unreasonable to her friends. She knew that they knew she loved them, but she figured that she had to show them her feelings once and a while.

Lily looked at her watch and realized that dinner was going to be soon, but yet she did not feel hungry. So instead of heading off to find her friends, she walked into her dormitory, placed her head on her pillow, and fell into a light sleep only to be woken up a few hours later by Kyra and Cora.

* * *

The four marauders had just entered the Great Hall to have dinner as most of the students were leaving. They did not care if they were late and would possibly miss some of the best foods at dinner, for is all else failed, they would travel down to the kitchens and anyone of the elves would help them in an instant. They were even friends with a few of them, and in the House elf world, once you befriended one, even if the others did not like you, you were respected among them.

So, without a care in the world, the friends sat down at the table and started to eat their meal. It had been a while since the four of them had eaten dinner, or any meal for that matter, together and the group did not know what to say to each other. The silence between them was not awkward; the boys had simply nothing to talk about. Although it soon would be broken by speech, the boys knew that their silence meant that their relationship was more than about having fun, for they could be comfortable with themselves while doing nothing. Their relationship did not depend on what the next adventure was, although that is what it seemed to most people to be based on, it was something much deeper than that. Though those words would never be said aloud between the boys, they knew deep inside themselves that they were more than friends; they were non-biological brothers.

"You're not hanging out with Lily tonight?" Sirius asked, as he took a bite of his food.

"No," James said, "I don't even know where she is."

"She is in her room," Remus said, "I was looking for her after my tutoring session and Cora said she was asleep in her room."

"Oh," James said, taking another bite of his mashed potatoes. "Well we were not going to hang out anyway."

A short silence followed but Peter interrupted it when he said, "So you guys want to do something then? We haven't done something as a group in a really long time."

"I'm game," Remus said immediately after Peter mentioned the idea.

"Why not," James said with a smile.

Sirius was the last to speak, for in his head annoying thoughts kept popping up. He wondered if this was what his friendship had come to, finding times when all three of them could meet mainly based on when one was not hanging out with a girl. It seemed dumb to base a friendship on such things. Even though he knew that James and the other two were going to be loyal with each other until the end, it was hard to imagine it when they never spent anytime together. Besides, why did the group suddenly reunite when it was convenient for James and not for everyone else? Maybe he had something else to do that night, but no one cared to ask because James was the one they all walked on egg shells around. Sirius felt resentment for James and his other two friends for a moment, until he realized that he had no reason to be angry with them. It was not their fault he was jealous and no matter how many times he told himself that he was not mad at the three or that it was stupid to feel the way he did, he continued to have these thoughts. It was a constant battle of locking these thoughts away and expressing his true feelings. It was the story of his life, pretending to be something he never was.

"I'm in too," Sirius said, forcing a smile.

* * *

"What the – bloody hell!" Lily said, sitting up in her bed soaked from her head to her waist while Cora and Kyra stood in front of her laughing with empty buckets in their hands. "That was not funny."

Cora and Kyra were not paying attention to their friend's agony as they gave each other a congratulatory high five. When they had walked into their dormitory a few minutes before, they noticed that Lily was asleep, and since it was a Friday, they wondered why their best friend was asleep at 9 o'clock. It was at the moment that Kyra's genius came full swing and instead of just waking up their dear old friend, they decided to do it in a more fun way. Although they could have used magic to wet their friend, it was more fun to have the pleasure of dumping the water on her themselves. Since Lily and James were going out they spent much of their nights together, and Cora and Kyra were not about to waste a perfectly good evening with a sleeping Lily. The night was especially welcoming because after Halloween Cora and Kyra's relationship had never been the same, but now they were starting to hang out on a normal basis again and although it was nice just the two of them, they needed the three. For to most people three was company, but to them it was their shinning moment.

"Well Lily," Kyra said, after she and Cora had gotten all of their laughter out, "we were planning to have a sleepover party and, well, the idea of a sleepover is not to sleep, so we had to save you."

"Couldn't you have just shook me awake like a normal person?"

"Now where is the fun in that?" Kyra asked with an innocent little smile.

Lily just rolled her eyes at her friend, because had she been in her friend's spot she probably would have done the same thing. Besides, after how she had been ignoring her friends, she figured she deserved two buckets of water poured on her.

"So what did you guys plan on doing once I got up," Lily said after she muttered a charm to dry her and her sheets up.

"Well," Cora said, pulling back the curtains of her bed to reveal more junk food then Lily had eaten all year; pizza, candy, chocolate, cookies, brownies, cakes, and lots more that Lily did not even know the name of.

Lily could not even speak when she saw the food, her mouth just opened in shock.

"Now rule one of girls' night," Kyra said very scholarly, "is not complaining about eating too much and gaining weight," and turned to Cora.

"Hey," Cora said with her hands up in defense, "you guys are perfectly skinny; you don't have to worry about staying in shape."

"Oh shut up Cora," Kyra said, "You are far from fat and out of shape, you could totally take me and Lily."

"No-" Cora started to say but Kyra interrupted her.

"Rule number two, there will be no sad faces, unless we are watching a chick flick and rule number three, besides the two previous rules, there are no rules. So in other words, that only leaves us with one problem."

"And what would that be?" Lily asked, getting up from the bed.

"What movie to watch," Kyra said with a smile pulling out the best chick movies of the time.

* * *

"Merlin James, you are a bloody chaser can't you throw the bloody ball straight?" Remus yelled at James.

After dinner the four boys had decided to have a two on two match at Quidditch, James teamed with Remus and Peter with Sirius. There were no keepers or beaters, just two chasers that could block the quaffle from going into on the hoops if they were close enough. They were not even keeping score; it was all about having fun and forgetting their troubles in and out of school.

"I would if Sirius would get off my ass," James said, as he tried to get Sirius from holding the back of his broom.

"Isn't that what I am supposed to be doing?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Don't listen to them Sirius," Peter yelled, "You are doing great!"

"Thanks Pete!"

The boys continued this type of behavior and mocking until they were each too out of breathe to continue. They were even too lazy to walk back to their rooms; they simply rode their brooms to the tower and collapsed on to their beds, ready to sleep until the next afternoon.

* * *

The girls on the other hand were far from asleep once the boys decided to settle down. They spent half the night having a movie marathon, even if they were not watching it, it was in the background as noise to keep silence from the air. They ate and talked about nonsense, for it did not matter what they said, for when girls are together, the craziest stuff comes out of their mouths.

"Okay, one last question for all of us," Kyra said, grabbing a cupcake and taking a bite out of it, "If you could sleep with any guy from school, not including the marauders, who would it be?"

"That is not fair," Lily said.

"Oh come on Lily," Cora said, "you may be in a relationship but you are not blind!"

"Yeah Lily you have to say someone," Kyra said, putting down her cupcake, "Okay I will go first; I would have to say, Loghan O'Connor."

"The Slytherin sixth year?" Lily said gasping.

"He may be evil, but he is hott as hell," Kyra said defensively.

"And that Irish accent is to die for!" Cora said laughing as the other two joined in after she said her statement.

"Okay okay," Kyra said, "Cora your turn."

"Hmm," Cora said, "I think Ashley Nader."

"Oh Cora that boy is such a manwhore," Lily said with a hint of laughter.

"And for good reason," Cora said, "If I had that body I would spread it around too."

The girls shared a laugh as Cora and Kyra turned to Lily to find out what her answer would be.

"I don't know," Lily said, playing with her hands.

"Come on, we know you have someone." Kyra said.

"Everyone does!" Cora said.

"Alright," Lily said realizing she was not going to be let off the hook for this one, "but this can not leave this room."

"Of course not," Kyra said truthfully, "None of the stuff that goes on tonight leaves this room."

"Definitely," Cora piped in.

"Alright well," Lily said a little reluctantly, "I would have to say…"

"Spit it out," Kyra said impatiently.

"Alex Copperfield."

The other two girls just burst out in laughter.

"That is rich Lily," Kyra said, "that damn Hufflepuff would be so thrilled by what you just said that he would not know how to react."

"Hey I have a glasses fetish!" Lily yelled at.

"That explains Mr. Potter," Kyra said laughing.

Lily shook her head as she looked to the window to find the sun rising in the distance.

"Oh my goodness," Lily said, walking over to the window, "We stayed up all night. I have not done this in such a long time."

"Yeah me neither," Cora said, "And I am not even tired."

"Well how about we clean up here and go and get some breakfast," Kyra said with a smile. "We will probably be the only ones there."

"You want more food?" Lily asked.

"Hey, once we started why stop?" Kyra said with a laugh as she led the other two girls out of the dorm.

* * *

A/N: This was updated quicker than I thought and that makes me happy because I actually have time to write during the craziness of the end of the semester. Although chapter over 4,000 words, that is my new limit now, so at least every chapter should be a little substantial. Anyway the beginning of this chapter is important but the end is completely unimportant, but I think I needed one of those crazy chapters. Anyway, I think I will have either 2 or 3 more chapters of being in Hogwarts. I have pretty much the chapter ideas in my head, and the next chapter is really planned out, so I want to try to get that out before I go on vacation for a week in the middle of May. I may be hard since I have exams, but I have lots of time to do it in so it is possible. I can't wait to get them out of Hogwarts, it will be a big accomplishment!

Thanks to all those who reviewed…reviews make me very happy and make me feel like my writing is worth while. I love you guys and I would be nothing without you!

Quidditchstar2291: I am glad that you like my story so much and it doesn't matter if you start reading a story late, for sometimes the best is saved for last!

Desert Mortician: You will find out what happens to Kyra and Cora as time goes on and yeah I am following the usually story line. I know that some of the things I have written don't match with some little details (the death of James' parents) but I don't want to start the story over from scratch since the same basic idea of them being dead is still present.

glowing-ice: Oh I love hearing from you, you have been reading since the beginning and I love hearing what you have to say.

fadingbeauty: I'm glad my story is more realistic and stuff, I am trying to add events that have either happened to me or my friends to show the real life factor. And I am also glad you like my sub-characters, that makes me very happy!

PLEASE REVIEW! I love positive and negative feedback, for it makes me a better writer to hear my faults and positives.


	38. How To Create An Auror

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

_"Something has changed within me  
Something is not the same  
I'm through with playing by the rules  
Of someone else's game  
Too late for second-guessing  
Too late to go back to sleep  
It's time to trust my instincts  
Close my eyes and leap"  
-Defying Gravity: Wicked_

**Chapter 38: How To Create An Auror **

After a few weeks of bliss, the students were finally entering the final days of classes, which meant that exams were only a few days away. The Gryffindor seventh years were putting all their available energy into studying, although it was sometimes a chore for most of the group to try and drag Sirius into the library. It seemed their life was devoted to studying and for what, a test that would last less than a day and then be over with. No one knew if half the things on the exam they would ever use in real life, because some things were so obscure that they could only be functional in school. It seemed pointless to some students, mostly led by Sirius Black, to study for this type of test. These tests, as schools, were supposed to prepare a student for the real world. But the real world was nothing like school and it seemed, in Sirius's mind, that if the world stopped sending young children through a schooling system where all they did was prepare, student may actually be prepared for what the next step of life would bring. Yet still, as much as Sirius complained and carried on about how pointless these tests were, he would eventually make his way to the library just like everyone else. He still did not spend as much time studying as everyone else, but yet he miraculously knew many answers to the questions others had. So it seemed that Sirius was either a wizard genius or he was hiding something from the rest of his friends; to his friends they figured he was hiding something, as especially James knew that Sirius was good at keeping things about himself a secret.

Sirius's secrecy deepened as his friends started to notice him spending more time with Kyra. Although it may have appeared to the outside students that this was a rekindling of an old love affair, to Kyra's and Sirius's friends, it was only a rekindled friendship. Sirius may have wanted a relationship, but Kyra would never let that happen; she was headstrong and had enough brains to not let Sirius make the same mistake twice. Kyra may have made her share of mistakes in her life, but she was never one to make the same one twice. She learned from the bad times in order to make the rest of her life more joyful. And even though Sirius was persistent in trying to get back together with Kyra after their first real chat in a few months, she would not let him have her again.

His constant rejection by Kyra left Sirius feeling like James when he was after Lily, except James would never cheat on Lily. With all this craziness on his mind, Sirius found it even harder to fall asleep at night; which was something to say because most nights Sirius only slept a few hours if any at all. During this time when the rest of the United Kingdom was asleep, he would open his school books and study and hoping every night that this would make his tired and fall asleep early. However the only thing this accomplished was mastering his school subjects, for at night the lectures seemed a lot more interesting then when he was sitting in a classroom.

"So this is how you've become smarter than everyone else in our year," James said, coming down the stairs finding Sirius sitting in front of the fire with a charms book opened in his hand.

Upon hearing his best friend's voice, Sirius quickly hid the book in this hand under his body and took on a more laid back stance, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Shut up Sirius," James said, walking over to his friend and sitting next to him on the couch.

"Alright you caught me," Sirius said, taking the book out from under him and placing it on his lap, "but what are you doing up this late?"

"Late Padfoot," James said shockingly, "It's seven in the morning."

Surprise spread across Sirius's face, he did not realize he had stayed up that late. However this should not have been shocking to him, since for a few days he had not slept at all...he had been running on espresso to get him through the day if he, on the rare occasion, felt fatigued.

"Don't look so shocked," James said, standing up and motioning to the book Sirius had in his hands, "we know all about your lack of sleeping habits and midnight study sessions."

Sirius, looking a little disappointed in his stealth yet unsurprised that his friends knew his secret, gazed at the book in his hands before speaking to his friend. "How did you figure it out?"

James laughed at his friend, "It wasn't very hard mate, if you know you as well as I do, then you aren't that hard to figure out. Besides, I saw you sneak down here one night and ever since then I have been hearing you either leave the room in the middle of the night or not come up from the common room."

"I see," Sirius said, putting the book on the cushion next to him before getting up and standing near his friend. "You still never told me what you are doing up this early in the morning?"

James left out a short, soft laugh at his friend's quick change of conversation. Sirius was never one to stay on one topic for a long time, especially if what he was talking about centered on him. Although this was at times ironic because he often enjoyed being the center of attention, James as well at the other Marauders, knew that Sirius did not like talking about himself in ways that led to his personal or emotional side. After being friends with Sirius for a long period of time, one would automatically pick up that there were things in Sirius's life that he wished never to talk about and although they bothered him greatly in his everyday life because he kept all of his feelings bottled up insides, he never showed this to those on the outside of his close circle of friends. Even among the Marauders he was slightly reserved, and James knew that he was the only one of the three that knew Sirius pretty much through and through. Although James himself was convinced that his best friend still kept things about himself shut in him like the leaves of a book, he was sure that there were only details that Sirius wished never to share. However, James believed that if details were the only things Sirius was keeping from him then it was not the worst thing in the world, for the big pictured matters more than the little details.

"Well Padfoot, you may not know this but exams are coming up…"

"Oh are they," Sirius interrupted.

"…and I as well as you have to do well on them, so I am up to study in the morning before I can get distracted."

"Well distraction is in the eye of the beholder," Sirius said with a hint of mischief in his voice. "Some people may say that having your best friend following you around is a bad thing, but I say it is the perfect reason to have a little fun."

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" James asked, catching on to Sirius's mischievousness.

"Well there is no way to be sure, since no one ever knows what is going through my head, but I think we are on the same page," he said letting his smile reach his eyes for the first time in weeks.

James smiled back at his friend, "Let's plan it over breakfast, I am starving."

"You are speaking my language Prongs," Sirius said as they walked out of the common room together heading for the Great Hall.

* * *

When the boys arrived in the Great Hall they found, to their astonishment, that there were some poor souls who seemed to be given the calling to wake up early to study. Yet it seemed that although they had been given this calling, they were not fully awake to take in the amount of information their books carried within their bindings. The few students that were there ate in silence and far apart from each other, no one needed to ask anyone why they were awake at this hour, they all knew. James and Sirius were engulfed by the silence and sat in the middle of the Gryffindor table without saying a word. They ate without speaking with the others for a while, and watched the others in the room. Neither of the boys knew any of the students in the hall, they either had their backs turned or the boys only knew them by face but not by name, except one other Gryffindor seventh year by the name of Cora Tetherwood.

"Great," Sirius said sarcastically.

"What?" James asked.

"She is here," he said, leaning his head in the direction of Cora.

"Who?" James asked, looking down the Gryffindor table, "Cora, don't tell me you are still up in arms about her?"

"I just can't stand her that's all," Sirius said, taking another bite of his eggs.

"You just don't like her because she is one of the only girls who actually liked you but you didn't like her," James said biting into his toast.

"She didn't just like me," Sirius said, raising his voice a little, "she was obsessed with me. She followed me everywhere and researched things about me through people I was associated with."

James rolled his eyes at his friend and replied in a whisper, "First of all if you mean she followed you, let's not forget she shares a common room and most classes with you, and second you two don't even talk to the same people."

"Why are you taking her side?" Sirius asked with disgust.

"I'm not taking anyone's side," James said, raising his voice to Sirius's level which meant the entire Great Hall could hear the conversation, "I'm just saying that I haven't ever seen her do anything to you except that she had a small crush on you, which is probably gone by now, and all you have done is rip on her. You never do anything like this to any other girl, why her?"

"Because she is obsessed with me! I would never care if she was gorgeous, but look at her, she's disgusting."

"Now she is not a model but she is decent looking."

"You wouldn't say that if she liked you…"

Sirius would have said more on the subject when he felt a presence behind him. He slowly turned his body around, but before he fully turned to the presence he knew who it was for the person spoke to the two boys.

"If you guys are going to talk about me, I would rather you say it to my face or at least not let me hear you," Cora said, with a stern look on her face and then walked heavily out of the Great Hall.

Without saying word, for all James needed to give to Sirius was a look of disappointment, James left with Sirius at his heels out of the hall to find Cora. However, once they were out there was no trace of the dirty blonde Gryffindor, but another seventh year Gryffindor was in sight and running toward the boys once she saw them come out of the hall.

"It's a little early for you boys to be causing trouble isn't it?" Kyra said, once she reached the two boys.

"You have no idea," Sirius said, with a sarcastic tone.

"Well what do you expect me to believe," Kyra said, throwing her hands down with a slight hint of frustration, "You guys are the Marauders."

It was then Sirius realized what he and James were supposed to discuss over breakfast. A mischievous smile spread across his face as the idea he had had earlier sprang back into his head; he had now fully forgotten about the Cora incident a few minutes ago.

"Hey," Kyra said, "if you guys are pulling a prank I want in."

"You sure you can handle it?" James said with a smile.

Kyra flipped her hair a little bit, as if to add to her attitude filled statement, "Try me."

* * *

Lily hit her alarm clock as it went off in the morning. She normally would not wake up this early on a Wednesday, since she did not have any morning classes, but since exams were close she had no choice but to use this time to get in a little extra studying. Lily was still unsure of what she wanted to do with her life, so instead of just focusing on only the subjects that would have mattered in her future job, she was forced to study all with the same aggressiveness. With this in mind she sighed as she forced herself out of bed and surprisingly found her friends were already out of bed.

"Weird," she said, finding it completely out of character for both of her friends to be up earlier than her; in her mind she could rationalize Cora but not Kyra.

Deciding it best not to dwell on such non-important things when exams were right around the corner, Lily picked up her backpack that was filled with her school books, and left for the Great Hall to get a quick bite to eat before she spent the rest of her day buried in her books.

As she exited the common room, Lily hoped that in the midst of her studying today she would discover what would be her destiny. Since the beginning of this year she had been trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. In her mind was a constant battle of what to do in the future; Lily never thought that having a basic talent in everything rather than a set strength would be a disadvantage. She had tried to write to her parents about her problem, but all they would tell her was that she had to make the decision on her own. Although she knew they were right, she was slightly disappointed that they did not give her any advice. It seemed they would be happy with whatever she chose to do, even if it meant putting her life on the line every day as an auror or being safe and secure teaching in a place like Hogwarts. She guessed this acceptance her parents had made them different from other more controlling guardians, but it also made her feel as if she had a life changing burden. But she like most people had to decide at 18 years old what the rest of her life would be like, so she told her mind to stop thinking about it as she approached the Great Hall and two professors came jogging out.

"Ah, Ms. Evans," McGonagall said as she reached Lily, "I was wondering if you could help us find…"

"Now Minerva," Dumbledore said, interrupting his fellow colleague, "exams are almost here, so I do not think it is right in making our Head Girl run around looking for something that may not even be in the building."

"But she may know where it is," McGonagall said, "after all; it was most likely her friends that did this."

"What's going on?" Lily asked, realizing she may have been rude in her questioning but she preferred not to be left in the dark.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at Lily before he answered her, it was as if he was amused at the words he was about to say, "It appears that some students in the school let three pigs loose in the school. Two of them have been found, but the third is still missing."

"How do you know there are three?" Lily asked.

Dumbledore smiled again, "They were numbered. We have found numbers one and three, but two still is missing."

Lily smiled to herself as Dumbledore told the story. She could tell he probably knew there was no third pig, but he appeared to be enjoying himself watching the students laugh about the situation, the teachers and even some students fretting about finding the animal, and the overall sense of joy the school felt made the building feel more like a home than it had in a long time.

"Oh, well you are right Professor," Lily said with a smile toward Dumbledore, "I do have a lot of studying to do, maybe the Prefects can try to find it?"

McGonagall looked at Lily in shock, for she had never heard her turn down a chance to help out the professors in her life.

Yet Dumbledore look at her with the twinkle still ever-present in his eye, and said, "Well then Minerva, we must let this young lady finish her studies."

With that the two left, and Lily shook her head and walked into the Great Hall to find James, Kyra, and Sirius sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Okay," Lily said with a smile as she sat next to James and across from Kyra and Sirius, "Who pulled the numbered pig trick?"

The three friends sitting at the table laughed at Lily's remark and continued eating their food at a quicker pace. They were not trying to hide anything from their friend, but they were simply taking in this moment and laughing at everything that focused around their prank.

"Who did it?" Lily asked, with a slight annoyance that her friends did not answer her right away.

"Well Kyra was the brains of the operation," James said.

"But Sirius provided the animals," Kyra said, nudging Sirius with shoulder.

"I was wondering why this didn't look like an authentic Marauder prank," Lily said turning to Kyra, "so I guess this explains it. Not that it wasn't good; it is just a switch from the usual Slytherin based prank." Lily paused for a minute before she spoke again, "a nice change."

"Yeah we can all laugh about this one," Kyra said, laughing a little bit, "the professors are the ones running around and going crazy rather than any students. Although Slytherin pranks are fun, this one is different but just as good."

All Lily could do was laugh at the situation, "You guys are ridiculous."

The four sat for a few minutes in happy silence as they finished their breakfast. It was at this moment that Lily realized that this was going to be one of the last times they shared a meal at Hogwarts. Exams were only a few days away, and once those horrid things were over with, it would be time to board the Hogwarts Express for the final trip home. Lily, just as her friends, were happy to get out into the real world and be out of school. They were excited to never have to take any more exams or forced to sit through classes that seemed to have no purpose, but Lily wondered if they were ready for the real world. With the war at its peak and friends turning into enemies when things got too rough, it was hard to trust anyone but oneself. But as Lily looked at the three people in front of her, she would have to say she trusted these three the most. Even though Remus, Cora, and Peter had never done anything to have her trust in them taken away, she did not know them as well. Cora and Remus Lily thought she knew well at one time, but lately both of them had become more loners than groupies and in a world surrounded by war; a loner was sometimes a sign of a traitor.

Lily mentally hit herself for thinking that any of her friends would be traitors, but the truth was that people were switching sides at an alarming rate. Lily knew her friends would trust her with their lives and she the same, but Lily knew that in any group of people, no matter how close they were, there could be a silent stranger in their midst just waiting for the right opportunity to let out their true personality.

"The post is here," Kyra said, knocking Lily out of her thoughts and she was glad for that, for thinking bad things about ones friends is never a good way to start a day.

The four students stared at the ceiling as owls of all shapes and sizes filled the room dropping packages and letters on the tables that actually had students on them, the rest just made their way to the owlery or the common rooms where most students were still sleeping or procrastinating studying.

The students watched, waited, and hoped that one of the owls would come to them to give them a short reprise from their stressful studying, since any distraction was met with a welcome. But between the four seated together at the Gryffindor table, only one person received a letter that morning and that person was Lily.

James watched as the owl approached Lily, dropped the letter, and flew away. He knew the kind of owl this was, and usually was not a bearer of good news. Sirius must have had the same thoughts because his face turned sour at the sight. Kyra may not have known what the owl or letter meant, but she saw the fallen looks of her comrades and her smile turned into a frown.

"What is up with you guys?" Lily asked, seeing her friends' faces.

"It's a Ministry letter," James said, putting his fork down and pushing his plate closer to the middle of the table.

"So," Lily said, unsure of what James was trying to get out.

"Not a lot of good things come from Ministry letters," Sirius said, "I mean sometimes they give the best news, but not as often as bad things."

Lily shook off their words, and started to open the envelope, "You guys worry too much. It's probably something so stupid that we'll end up laughing about this conversation later."

"No," James said taking the letter from her, "Let's go for a walk first."

"James," Lily said, "You're being ridiculous."

"Just go with him," Kyra said, suddenly remembering one of her friends getting a letter like about a year ago; she finally understood what the boys were talking about.

"Fine," she said, picking up her books, grapping James's hand and walking out of the Great Hall.

"Is that what I think it is?" Lily heard Kyra ask Sirius before she was out of range to hear them talking.

* * *

Lily and James sat underneath the tree. This tree was the same one that Sirius would climb when his past came back to haunt him, the one James would run to when memories of his parents' came rushing back unexpectedly. It was the tree of sorrow and all the Marauders knew where their friends would be if something bad happened, under the tree. Neither James nor any other of his friends knew how the tree came to be their strength, but there were a lot of memories hidden in its bark and foliage and it would be a hard thing to leave once they were no longer students at Hogwarts.

But today it was not a Marauder problem, but one of their girlfriend's issues. James may not have wished to be correct about the Ministry letter, but he knew Lily was happy not to be in the Great Hall when she heard the news. The night before last her parents had been killed in a Death Eater attack that took place at a market near the Evan's home that was also a center for wizard and witch activity; her parents were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time for Voldemort and his followers may have not purposely gone out to kill muggles that night, but he was never against them being killed when the opportunity approached.

When Lily first read the news of her parents' death, the tears started streaming out of her eyes. James held her tight as they sat at the base of the tree until her eyes ran out of tears. James did not know how long she had been crying, but at this moment she had stopped crying and was simply wrapped in his arms staring ahead of her in a daze. He knew she may have been in a different world at this very moment, but he could not move from his hold on her. Although he did not know for sure, he figured he was her strength at this moment. She did not need someone to tell her that everything was going to work out for the best, for he knew from experience that those words did not help, she just needed someone to be there for her. Someone to stand by her side and say that the way she was acting or feeling was not crazy, that her reactions were normal. James knew that either he or her friend Cora would be the best person to stand by her right now, for they were the only ones who understood what she was going through. They knew this was not going to be an easy recovery, for mourning took at least a year to get through, for a person has to go through every joyous holiday and every social event to feel their presence missing.

But James was ready to be by her side during every bad day that followed this moment because he loved her, and he would do anything in his power to make this time a little easier for her.

"Is it going to hurt for a long time?" she asked, allowing only her mouth to move.

He wanted to tell her that all of her feelings would miraculously disappear eventually, but he knew better.

"Yes," he said, "But it won't always feel just like this. Eventually the pain will dull, so it only feels like a small tug."

Lily did not move when she heard this, her eyes were still focused on some distant unknown object.

"It will get better though," James said looking at her, "It's just going to take a while."

She then turned to him, her eyes red and glazed from crying, "I don't even feel like they're really gone. I guess the first thoughts of them not being there when I get off the train has passed, now I just feel numb, even like this is a dream, but I know it's not a dream. I just…I can't explain the feeling."

James took in a deep breath and then spoke to Lily as a man who understood everything she was feeling at this moment, "That's normal. You're in shock and the fact that we're away from our family while we're at school makes it worse. It won't sink in until you get off the train in a few days, or your birthday passes, or Christmas comes, that's when it's going to hit the hardest."

Lily looked back at James again before turning her head away from him and leaning back against his chest again. They sat there for a while, breathing at the same pace and thinking about nothing in particular. They were just taking in the sights of this summer day, with empty minds but full, heavy hearts.

"I've made my decision," Lily said, after about ten minutes of silence.

"About what?" James asked.

"I'm going to be an auror. I'm going to make Voldemort and his followers pay for what they have done to me, you, Cora, and everyone else in this school who had lost a member of their family."

"This shouldn't be a rash decision though Lil," James said, not trying to convince her not to work toward this dangerous job, but to make sure she was not simply making this decision out of the blue.

"I've been thinking about this for a while," she said, "I've just been waiting for a sign to figure out what I should do with my life, and although I would have taken a letter with a profession written on it, this is the sign I've got. I'm going to be an auror."

"You don't have to do it alone. Me, Remus, Sirius, Peter, if he gets the grades, are all going to be aurors too. We'll beat him together, that…that I'm sure of."

* * *

A/N: I know, I have been a very bad writer and I don't have a real excuse anymore except that work is killing me and making me too tired to write. But recently, now that I have started to write again, my computer had a virus and although I did get rid of it, I think my computer is partially damaged because every time I put a 'tr' word (and it happened again as I wrote it here), that caps lock and number lock permanently goes on. I have to call dell at some point, but I don't feel like it because I would have to lose my computer and all the files I have on it and that would piss me off…all my music! But if anyone is good with computers and can tell me how I can possible fix this I would really appreciate it. If not, until I update next time, hopefully before that next Harry Potter book comes out.

oh, and the last words in this sentence (with the asterisk) were from a quote by Virginia Wolf, they are her words and no mine.

Thanks to those who reviewed…you guys keep me going!

Sweettarts: if you see any more mistakes in newer chapters let me know, my earlier chapters are kind of crappy with stuff like spelling, but I am trying to make it better now

ChrisCHJ: an oral presentation…really…what about may I ask? I'm curious…;)

werewolf21: I'm glad you can read past some of my misspellings and stuff like that…I'm a horrible speller, have been forever. Glad to have you as a reader though!

OH!! READ THIS PLEASE!! And next chapter will be the last chapter at Hogwarts, then they are out in the real world…should I make the time they spend out of Hogwarts a different story or just continue this one. What do you guys think?


	39. The Dawn of a New Era

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

**Spoiler Warning if you have not finished the last book you are not advised to read this chapter because it contains some elements from the new book. If you have finished the book then enjoy and read on.**

_"I shall be telling this with a sigh,  
Somewhere ages and ages hence;  
Two roads diverge in a wood and I-  
I took the road less traveled by,  
And that has made all the difference."  
-Robert Frost_

**Chapter 39: The Dawn of a New Era**

The exams were pretty much over with when the seventh year students started to think about what they would do after their schooling was complete. Many students were finishing up last minute resumes in order to apply for jobs or other further educational advancements, but others were still not willing to accept the fact that they would soon be entering the real world and would have to work for the next few decades of their lives. It was the fact that they were leaving their childhood behind during a time that was full of death and destruction that made this time more sensitive than usual. Families were being separated by ideas, death, and paranoia; no one was safe because the Dark Lord was gaining followers at an alarming rate and those who believed that he should be stopped were either not doing anything or dying in the "mysteries accidents" that kept occurring in the United Kingdom.

However, even with this impending danger and concerned parents trying to convince their children to change their mind, there was an influx of students applying to auror training after Hogwarts; a happening that made Dumbledore's eyes twinkle at the thought. Since the children were the backbones of the future Dumbledore, as well as others fighting on the side of good, were hopeful that all was not lost. For since many parents and people of the older generation were beginning to lose hope in this fight against evil, it was now up to the youngsters of society to take charge. Dumbledore as well as others knew there would be much death and suffering in the younger generation, but he also knew that they would fight to the death for what they believed in. For it has always been that the young have made the most change during times of great tragedy and stress and the Dark Lord's rise would be no different.

But none of the children who would be leaving Hogwarts for the last time thought about this as most finished their last examinations in the walls of the school, the only thing on their mind was relaxing and spending time with the people who mattered most in their lives; their friends.

Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, and Kyra were sitting in the Head's common room, since the Gryffindor common room was overtaken by students younger then them and although they could have used their seniority to chase them away, they opted to retire to there current location so as to get some alone time with their friends and also not ruin the excitement of the end of exams for the younger students. Sirius and Kyra were playing chess over in one corner of the room, James and Peter were talking fervently about a missing map on the couch in front of the unlit fireplace, and Lily sat on the love seat trying to read a book but she kept losing her focus on other more important things that were on her mind. Cora and Remus were missing from the gang; Cora had one more exam the next morning (one of few students who still has an exam) and Remus was walking the corridors and looking for something (even though the Marauders knew that the real reason he was missing was because he was collecting his things from the Shrieking Shack incase he was left anything down there).

But the thought of her missing friends was not keeping Lily from on concentrating her book; it was the death of her parents that was still fresh in her memory that kept her from really completing anything important. She had tried to put aside her grief during the exams, for she knew her parents would have wanted her to do well, but all that pushing aside of feelings made her miss them even more when she had any quiet time. This time to herself was often short lived for her friends; especially James and Cora would never leave her alone for too long. She was never bothered by their company, for they would often just sit in silence with her and hold her hand or put his or her arm around her shoulders just to show her that she was not alone in her suffering. Lily had two friends who had lost their parents because of the war, and in turn they would understand how she felt. Yet even though she knew everyone meant the best in everything they did to comfort her, she still needed to time to herself. This feeling inside caused her to put her book down on the small table in front of her, leave the common room, and head for a destination she did not even know.

She heard Sirius say as the door closed, to James, Lily guessed since he probably made a jump to go after her, "Let her go, she needs a little time alone."

Lily smiled to herself briefly and mentally told herself to thank Sirius when she got back. Although he must have known to not leave her alone for too long, to trap her in would only make it worse. Lily needed to get over this in her own way, and some time to think on her own was one of the ways she would let the grief pass over into simply a memorial in her mind for the people that raised her. She did not expect the sadness to ever go away, especially since they died when it was not their time to leave this earth, but she knew she would have to conquer the feeling some time. It would not go away today, for it had been said to her that is takes a full year to even begin to recover from any death, but today she would be one step closer to living with a hole in her heart.

Lily stopped walking as thoughts and memories of her parents rushed into her brain. She sat on the stair she was on, not caring if the staircase was deep inside the castle or in the front entrance, and put her face in her hands as slow falling, silence tears fell from her eyes.

"I'm sorry about your parents," said a voice Lily had not heard for a long time.

"Why would you care?" she asked him as she turned to him, "You killed them."

"How could I have killed them?" Snape asked, "I've been at school."

"You may not have spoke the curse that killed them, but you call the people who did your friend." She said, getting up to walk away from him "And," she said looking into his eyes, "that's as good as murdering them."

Lily went to walk past him but he caught up with her in a few steps and held on to her arm to pull her back, "Lily listen."

"Oh, I'm back to Lily now," she said, folding her arms to show her unhappiness with the confrontation, "It is because all your real friends are away, and you can actually be the person you really are?"

"That's not fair," Snape said, looking at the ground.

"We have nothing in common anymore, so why do you even bother to come and talk to me?" she asked, backing away from him.

"If you didn't want to be my friend then why did you asked me for help in the beginning of the year?" he asked, trying to get her to answer the question that had been lingering in his head since he had fought with James at the start of term.

"You owed me a favor," Lily said coldly, not wanting to remember how evil she had been toward the man she now loved, "For all you've done to me, you owed me that much. Besides, it wasn't personal, it was business."

"Just because you paid me does not convince me that you never wanted to speak to me again," he said forcefully.

"You made it more than what it was Snape…"she started to say but was interrupted by Snape almost yelling.

"Will you please stop calling me by my last name."

"No," Lily said, "you've stopped being my friend when you started calling me a Mudblood. And, if you cared about being my friend again, then why did you keep calling me that afterward…even in the beginning of the year? If you thought this was going to be a new beginning for us, why did you continue it?"

"Because you made me furious," Snape said, letting his anger unleash, "I got a letter from you for the first time in two years, and all you could say when we met was that you wanted me to attack Potter for you."

"You're the one who wanted payment."

"Only after you demanded that I do this act. Not that I mind watching the boy suffer, but I thought we were going to make amends and all you wanted to do was hurt someone."

Lily was silent, she truly did not know how to answer his statement, but she did know she was getting sick of hearing him talk.

"What I don't understand," Snape said in the caring voice Lily used to know so well, "is how you can forgive him for what he has done throughout our six years at Hogwarts, but you can't forgive me for this one little thing."

"It was more than you just calling me a Mudblood," she said, "You started changing everything about you. You followed whatever your friends told you to do, you started greasing your hair, you were so involved in the Dark Arts, and you were cruel to everyone. I grew to resent you in school, and then by the time summer came, you were normal. I can forgive James because he never went out with the intention to really hurt someone and he was always himself, but you, you pretend to be this evil person, but I know you aren't really like that. That's why I can't be friends with you. How can I be friends with someone who's completely fake and never acts like their true self?"

"Lily I-" he started to say, but he was cut off by Lily's words.

"No buts, Snape. I should have never asked you to help me with James, it was wrong for me to do that to him, but I really should have know you would never let me live it down."

Snape stayed silent, knowing she did not want him to speak.

"You and I are completely different people with two completely different outlooks on life. I cherish it, and you destroy it. You want to purify magic by killing all the muggleborns and half-bloods, and I think everyone deserves a fair chance to be what they are meant to be. We think differently, I don't even know how we have ever gotten along."

"But Lily, I love you," Snape said with more sincerity than Lily had heard him say in a long time.

She shook her head and spoke to him as if she were a mother explaining a difficult problem to a child, "If you really loved me, you would have never done anything to hurt me. And I hope you never do anything to me or James, or whomever I'm dating or eventually marry because the least you can do is be man enough to face what you have done to yourself."

"Lily-"

"I don't want to hear anymore, I've got too much on my mind to start thinking about our long lost friendship again. After today, I hope we never meet again because after school ends we will be greater enemies than ever before. You will be, as you probably are now, a Death Eater serving the ranks of the people who killed James', Cora's, and my parents. I, on the other hand, will be an auror and my job will be to kill people like you. And when I see you again, I hope you don't hesitate to kill me because I won't to kill you."

"If you think I'm a Death Eater now, why don't you just turn me in. Get rid of the threat," Snape said, in his sinister voice.

"Part of me wants to, the part that knows you're never going to change. But there is still the small part of me that believes one day you will change your ways and leave your current weak, following ways to become that strong independent boy I knew before we went to Hogwarts. Maybe one day that boy will come out, but I can only hope for your sake. Maybe the day you lose or are threatened to lose something important to you, maybe that will be the day you realize what you've done. But until that day, you will be my enemy and I shall be yours."

And with that Lily walked away from Snape, and he dared not follow for he knew she was right. Everything he had done to hurt their relationship had been his fault, but how could he change now when he was so deep into the dark side?

* * *

"I still can't believe you have one more exam left, that slot is for third years with conflicts, not actual planned exams," Remus said to Cora as they left the library together.

"Believe it," Cora said with a slight laugh, "only a divination teacher would do something like that. I don't even know why I'm studying though, Lily said I should just predict lots of death and I'll get a high grade."

Remus smiled and shook his head, "Sadly, you probably would be right."

Cora was quiet for a few moments after Remus said these words as if giving respect to those who had died and those that would die at the hands of Voldemort and Death Eaters in the future.

"You never told me what you were doing in the library?" Cora asked, "I have studying, but you have really no reason to be in there now that exams are done. I didn't expect to see anyone especially a seventh year."

"I was returning books from forever ago," he said, "the fine was ridiculous."

"You," Cora said with shock, "you forgot to return library books."

"Well, that's a funny story actually, they were Sirius's books and he forgot to return them."

"Wait a minute," Cora said, stopping mid-stride, "Sirius took out library books?"

Remus laughed and faced her to answer, "Well, technically I took them out a few years ago because he needed them and then he hands them back to me this morning saying 'I think these are yours, cause they certainly aren't mine' and I said back are 'you kidding me? These books are like from our second or third year, you can't be serious with me.' But he was Corin, he was."

With that Remus started walking again, but Cora did not follow him, and when he finally noticed she was not following him he turned around and asked, "Everything okay?"

"You called me Corin."

"Oh, sorry," he said walking to her a little embarrassed, "You don't like that name?"

She shook her head and spoke, "My mom used to call me Corin. I never really liked it until she died, then it become one of those things I missed about her and dad."

"Right," he said, starting to walk with her again.

"But you can call me Corin if you want," she said, her face getting a little pink as she spoke these words.

Remus nudged her a bit and then with a smile said, "Okay."

Cora smiled back as she turned her head away from him and held her book tight to her chest, but that smile soon left her face when she saw Lily walking strangely up a staircase and in the direction of what looked like the Gryffindor common room.

"Lily," Remus called, sensing the same distress Cora felt.

Lily, upon hearing her friend yell, turned around. She tried to force a smile, but her eyes were red and puffy from crying and smiling would only make her look worse.

"Lil," Cora said once she reached her friend and held both of Lily's hands in hers. Cora could not say anything more, for anything else would have been too much, Lily needed to make the next move. And when she did, for Lily a few moments later hugged her friend, Cora spoke again.

"You don't have to try to go through this alone you know," she said, "We're all here to help to you."

"Yeah, you can talk to us about anything," Remus said from behind Cora.

Upon hearing his words Lily partially left Cora's embrace and reached out for Remus so that the three could join in a three-way hug. Lily released them a few seconds later and wiped the non-existing tears from eyes, "Thanks," Lily said, "I needed that."

Cora smiled and said, "anytime."

"Lily," James called from behind them, "Sirius told me not to follow you but apparently other people did."

"No," Lily said, "They just found me."

"Yeah," Remus said scratching the back of his head, "We were just on our way back from the library."

"I get it," James said after a few seconds pause to take in what Remus has said.

"I'm confused," Cora and Lily said at the same time and proceeded to laugh for a few seconds afterward.

"Well Lil," James said, taking his girlfriend's hand, "we should leave them alone, want to go for a walk?"

Lily looked at Remus and Cora and then back to James before finally answering, "Sure. I'll talk to you guys later."

"See ya," Cora said with a slight laugh and then walked off with Remus. Once the two lovebirds were out of earshot she spoke again, "So how long before James proposes?"

Remus coughed and then answered her, "What, come on you know as well as me that if he proposes Lily would never accept, not because she doesn't love him but cause they are only 18."

"Yeah," she said, "but look at the times we're in. People are dying and they don't have any other family. They will probably move in together once we leave, so why not just get married."

"I don't know about that," he said, but I guess you never know what people will do in a given situation

Cora looked at him as they entered the Gryffindor common room, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

"You okay?" James asked, as he and Lily walked hand-in-hand down the many staircases to the grounds of Hogwarts. He could see the tears in his girlfriend's eyes forming as well as the residue from previous tears, and he was determined to help stop any more water falling from her emerald eyes.

"I'm fine," she said, not daring to look at him.

Both he and Lily knew she was lying, for how could anyone be fine when they had just lost the people that meant the most in their life. Why James even bothered to ask how she was evaded answer, but he knew this pointless question was sometimes the only thing one could say to a person in this fragile state. He did not know what to say next so he simply squeezed her hand for a moment to let her knew she was not alone in the world. At this moment, in her head, it did not matter if he knew what she was feeling because he had gone through the same ordeal in the beginning of term, the most important thing was knowing that you had friends along side of you that would never let guilt and sadness take over in one's head. Friendship and love were the only ways to ease the suffering that would never truly leave, but it was the best medicine to dull the pain.

When they reached the outside, James felt Lily let go of his hand but then quickly, as if not to lose the warm she was receiving from his touch, linked her arm with his and pulled her body close to him. Even though the day was pretty warm, the heat that was coming from her was not uncomfortable for it was like she was part of him rather then latched. He smiled at her close proximity and gently leaned his head on her carrot top hair. They walked like this in silence until they reached the tree that had been a part of many memories in their lives; for it was this spot all the Gryffindor seventh years would miss the most.

The two sat at the base of the tree with James's back against the bark and Lily sitting in between his legs leaning against his chest and his arms around her torso. She complimented this by placing her arms over his so that the two were in peace just relaxing to the sounds of their rhymed breathing and heartbeat.

"James," Lily said, breaking the silence as they watched the sun slowly setting in the distance. "I don't know what I'm going to do after school. My sister and I decided it was best to sell the house and split the proceeds, but now I have no place to go. She would never let me live in her house."

"I figured you were going to get a flat with Kyra and Cora," James said, as if thinking she had forgotten what she had planned out for her life.

"We never really talked about it," she said shaking her head slightly, "I always figured that Kyra would go back with her parents, Cora with her brother, and me with my parents…but that has all changed."

James thought for a second, knowing that he and his crew had not talking at all about what they were planning to do once they left Hogwarts, and quickly said his thought before he had a chance to make a rational decision, "Why don't you move in with me."

Lily was a bit taken back by his proposal, because she doubted that had both of their parents not been deceased he would have never asked a question like this. For one thing her father would have never allowed it and her mother would have cried hysterically to think that her little girl was growing up too fast. Lily remembered how hard her parents took it when they found out Petunia was getting married, and how would they react to her moving in with a boy she had been dating for less than a year.

She shrugged these thoughts away. Who cared what her parents thought about things she was going to do in her life, they were dead and their opinion held no more importance in her life. She was free to do all the things she wanted to do with no worry that she was going to get in trouble. Yet what fun would it be to sneak around doing stuff that could get her in trouble without the thrill of having to sneak around her parents. She used to live for the things her parents never knew about, but now she wished she had told them everything. Now she would not have the opportunity to tell or hide anything from them, and this thought made her eyes start to water again. But Lily was determined not to cry, she had to be strong and try to pull herself together.

Not noticing her watering eyes, James took her silence to mean a completely different thing, "I won't be like really moving in. My parents' house is huge and there are plenty of rooms. You can have your own room and I'll have mine, it will just be a place to live. It won't be any different than living at Hogwarts, just with less people."

Lily's real problem at hand came into her mind when James spoke. She began reasoning with herself, with the idea that living with James was not going to be a serious matter. They could live their lives no differently than they do now, sharing a common place and sleeping in different locations. She ignored the screaming in her head, which was the voice of her parents, that it was wrong to move in with a fellow eighteen year old of the opposite sex and made a decision that she felt would change her for the better for the rest of her life.

"Sounds good," Lily said with a smile and then turned to James and looked at him in a way he had never seen before. All her distress and sadness was washed away from her eyes and the only thing left was passion and hunger.

Lily smiled seductively and kissed James with more fire than he had ever seen in her. He did not protest against this and passionately kissed her back, his one hand against her arm and the other slightly stroking her stomach as Lily pushed his head and back against the tree. Their tongues danced together within the fire of their passion and the sky above turned a mood perfect red to match the intensity between the two lovers. They did not know if it was the prospect of the future, or the fact that both were feeling empty inside because of mutual lose, but neither cared at this moment for it was only them in the world.

* * *

Sirius sat alone in his bed with the curtains drawn listening to Peter snoring in the next bed and somehow hearing Remus's light breathing over the noise. He knew the rhythms of the night; for it was only thing he heard the nights he attempted to sleep. But one thing was missing from the symphony; James. Sirius knew everything about this boy's sleeping patterns because he had been the only real family member he had ever had in his life. He was the person who kept him together when everything was falling apart, his sanity within his home only stayed because of the prospect of seeing his friends again. It was his friendship with the Marauders, especially James, which made him strong enough to leave his family's clutches when he had finally had enough. He still had never talked to James about the night he left, he figured he had to tell him one day because he owed him that much.

But right now talking to his best friend was not the most important thing, it was figuring out where he was this late at night and whom he was with, but he could guess the person he was seeing at this moment. As if in an answer to his question he heard the door squeak open and his friend's footsteps enter the room. Sirius would have drawn back his curtains had he not heard a second set of footsteps follow behind him. These steps were not made by a man for they were too light and delicate, and Sirius did not know who they belonged to until he heard a short giggle come the girl as they climbed into the bed across from his position. Now Sirius had heard a lot of things during the night between the common room and the boys' dormitory, but he was thankful that he heard a silencing charm being placed around the bed and curtain because that last thing he wanted to hear was Lily and James.

* * *

A/N: I know another long wait, but I really do like this chapter. I tried to make this story fit in more with the seventh book since it was amazing. I won't say anything else about it since I am sure someone out there has not finished it yet, but I can say please hurry up because I really want to vent about some things. Anyways, I have obviously finished the book and if anyone wants to discuss please message me or leave me a review…I love to hear others opinions. Of course I am really interesting in what people think about the movie. I think it sucked but the people who played Luna and Umbridge were amazing!!!!

Anyway, I am not making a different story for the next part of the Potter's life because at first I was going to make a clear ending between their school time and their adult life, but I have had random great ideas come into my mind so I am doing that instead. NEXT CHAPTER has lots of craziness and more Lily and James fun (as long as it all fits if not then the next chapter after that definitely).

Please read and review, it makes me see that even though the series is done, people like me still are in love with the magic of Harry Potter and the rest of the gang!

Agnes Green - glad to have a new reader they keep me going

glowing ice : always a pleasure to hear from you and it is diference in opinion that keeps people great

Thestralwhisperer : I love your name and i am glad you find the pigs funny because i always did


	40. The Strength of the Youth

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I own everything you don't recognize.

"_A friend is someone who has the same enemies as you."  
-Abraham Lincoln _

**Chapter 40: The Strength of the Youth**

"Kyra if you don't get down here now I am going to curse you!" Cora yelled from the base of the steps leading to the girls' dormitory of Gryffindor tower.

It was currently the last morning the seventh year students would spend at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and since Cora had taken Lily's advice and packed the night before, it was only Kyra that was keeping the girls from heading to the feast. Cora did not know why she had suddenly listened to Lily's rant about packing before it was necessary, but knew now that it was much easier than leaving everything to the last minute.

"Shut up Cora," Kyra yelled from up the stairs, "I'll be down soon enough, don't have a hissy fit!"

Cora just shook her head and sat down on the couch next to Lily. The seventh year boys of Gryffindor Tower had already made their way to the feast, they were convinced that the girls would never be ready in time and they were not going to miss their last morning feast at Hogwarts.

"I told you it wouldn't work," Lily said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Cora laughed along with her, "I should have learned to listen to you a long time ago."

"It would do you some good to realize that because I" Lily said, speaking in a very sarcastic tone, "I am the smartest girl in the world and you should listen and follow anything I say."

Cora, not knowing how to fully respond to her friend's speech, laughed at her and threw the pillow on the couch at her. The two friends laughed at this before they heard heavy footsteps coming down the girls' staircase. Kyra, who seemed to be slightly sweating from moving all of her stuff, came down the stairs and said, "Let's go ladies, I'm not waiting for you anymore."

"Shut up!" Cora and Lily said at the same time as the three girls walked out of the common room and toward the Great Hall for their last feast at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * *

The girls arrived at the table and joined their fellow Gryffindor seventh years just as the last few people were entering the Great Hall. Lily was not sure if it was simply because she was a seventh year and gazing around the room more than normally since it would be her last time here, but the mood in the hall seemed more somber than it has been in the past few years. Lord Voldemort's attacks were reaching an unprecedented height and the elder students were realizing that they might not know if they would see all of their friends next term. This thought was even more profound amongst the seventh years, who knew they would never come back to this oasis in the battle field. As Lily looked around again, happy faces hid saddened eyes. She even noticed that there was a sense of fear in the eyes of the Professors they would be leaving this year. Perhaps the only one without a sense of worry, excluding the first and second years who most could not fully comprehend the troubles that awaited them once they left the school, was the Headmaster. Albus Dumbledore still had the ever-lurking twinkle in his blue eyes, and before Lily could look away, their gazes met and her perplexed look was met with one of hope and promise.

Dumbledore smiled at Lily and then turned his eyes to the room and rose to say the last end of the year speech the seventh years would ever hear him say.

"Welcome, my students, to another close of the year at Hogwarts. I hope all your studies ended well, and if need be some improvement for next term. But alas, some of you are leaving us for good this year and we are all quite saddened to see you leave these halls. You are leaving this place of learning to go on to do much better things, in a world that needs constant reminders that there is still room to laugh and smile. Hold your heads high and hold fast to your most trusted allies, for friends and family are one of the only lights that are still shinning in these dark times. Yet there is still room to remember, that there is still hope in the future. Just as the prospect of teaching new first years at the start of every term will forever be there, so will be hope, even if it is the last thing left in Pandora's Box."

As Dumbledore sat, his usual speech was not followed by applause, but by silence. Everyone was taking in his words and trying to figure out all of their meanings. While Lily was still lost in thought, she was nudged by Kyra to tell her to start eating. At this she turned and smiled at her friends sitting around her. Dumbledore was right, even if her parents were gone and her sister hated her, she still had all of her friends. Most especially she had James. As unorthodox as it may have been if her parents were still alive, she would be living with him in his house once they left Hogwarts. Although no one else would be living with them, she felt that the other five would be frequent visitors to the household. A smile reached her face from ear to ear as she took a hold of the food in front of her, this was her family now and how lucky she was to have them.

"I was half expecting some crazy contraption to come barreling from the ceiling during Dumbledore's speech! What no end of the year prank this year boys?" Kyra asked, in an extremely taunting tone.

"I see by seventh year you still expect us to be an immature as ever?" Remus asked her back.

"Well maybe you Remus, but certainly not those two over there," she said pointing her fork to James and Sirius.

"Who us?!?!" Sirius cried, "we are very mature for our age I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Oh ha!" she cried back, "that is a great joke Sirius, I needed a laugh today."

"But seriously guys, no prank today? I'm surprised as well," Cora said.

"No prank," Sirius snapped back, leaving Cora to say nothing else with the group for the rest of the feast. His tone led James to give him a glare which was almost a caution to drop the tick on his shoulder he had about Cora.

"Yes Cora and Kyra no prank this year," James said naturally, "it really sucks that we didn't and we're probably going to regret it someday-"

"More like right now," Sirius grumbled.

"But we didn't, and that is that," James finished, ignoring Sirius.

"I think that is more of the prank," Remus chimed in, "all the staff and professors are waiting around for something to come and they seem afraid to trust anything or anyone in front of them."

At this the Gryffindor seventh years laughed at the cautiousness in everyone's manners from the Slytherins to the Professors, how they would all miss the trouble the four Marauders caused the halls of Hogwarts. The group laughed a while at the many hysterical events that made their studying years at Hogwarts bearable until it was time to leave for the train to go back to reality.

The group was one of the last of those to leave for the trains; for although the prospect of seeing their families once again was extremely important for most of them; they knew that in these hard times the most important people in their lives were their friends. And until they could hold it off no longer, they made their ways to the carriages that would take them to the train. They each took one last look at the school they called home for seven years and wished it silently goodbye; for even though they had the thrill of living out on their own ahead of them, they were still trying to take in every last glimpse of the castle until they could see it no longer.

* * *

The train slowly came to its usual halt as it pulled into Kings Crossing. The younger students, who were always the most eager to get off the train to see their families once again, were the first to get their things and wait in line to pass through the portal to the muggle world. The Gryffindor seventh years took their time in getting their things and found themselves near the end of the line once they had reached the outside. Lily and James led the group, followed by Peter, Sirius and Remus, and Cora and Kyra held up the rear. Cora noticed that her friends in front of her were making small conversation as they waited for their turn, but she and Kyra just stared at the train they were leaving for the last time. Although Cora had not looked at Kyra, she could feel her gaze going past her to look at the train, since she was closer to its engine. At one point Cora turned to look at the usually joyful Kyra to find that her eyes were slightly misty. She then smiled at her friend, and Kyra proceeded to laugh.

"I can't believe we are done with school. Where did seven years go?" Kyra asked.

All Cora could do was shake her head and say, "I have no idea."

After that statement they were pushed from the sadness in their minds by the wizard in front of them telling them to go through the portal. However, when Cora went through the portal she landed flat on her face in a place that did not resemble Kings Crossing in the slightest way. Her trolley was missing and Kyra was also missing. Yet before she had time to panic she heard a friendly voice call to her.

"Cora," Remus called to her as he was hunched behind a large boulder near where she stood. "Come over here."

Not really thinking, Cora followed Remus' directions and upon squatting down next to him, she noticed that Sirius was also next to them.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked her.

"Yes I'm fine," she quickly spit out, "But where are we? What is going on? Where is everyone else? I was just going through the portal with Kyra and then all of a sudden I was here by myself. We have to find Kyra, she shouldn't be alone here."

"Kyra didn't come through?" Sirius asked, with a little panic in his voice.

"I'm not sure; the impact knocked me on the ground. All I know is that one minute she was next to me and the next she was gone."

"We have to find her," Sirius said immediately and proceeded to stand up, but was pushed back down by Remus with a strength Cora did not think he ever had. It would seem that Remus had a strength in him that one could never see if they just looked at him. This did not count his inner strength of self worth that he held within his soul, for he had to have great inner strength in order to try and keep sane knowing he became a monster once every month.

"Sirius we have no idea where we are and we also have no idea if she even came through the portal! You are staying here until we find out something."

"If we stay here we'll accomplish nothing! There has got to be students all over this place!"

"Sometimes I don't know how you get by everyday." Remus said shaking his head slightly and raising his voice to his friend a little, "Obviously not everyone was brought here or else we would see students everywhere. There has to be some kind of reason why we were selected to be here."

"But-" Sirius began to say but was interrupted by Cora.

"Stop it boys!" Cora said, raising her voice above a whisper to be heard over the two quarrelers. "Let's just try to find a way out of here."

"Okay fine, which way shall we go?" Sirius asked, and it was at this time that the three students got their first good glimpse of the rocky area they has been transported to.

They ground which they would be forced to walk on was rocky and uneven; it seemed any false step would lead to a painful fall. The element of slipping was given even more fear because of the slow moving river that was a few feet in front of them. The remains of an old building were a bit further then the river and it was at that moment that a mix of mud and dirt could be seen. The clouds above them were floating ominously above them as the sun was almost fully set at this time and the moon was started to show its face. All three graduated students sighed a sigh of relief to see that the full moon would not be for a few more nights, since that would only add to the issues at hand for the three.

"We might as well start moving to the abandoned building over there, this way we can get on some solid ground." Remus explained.

Without really answering him, they slowly made their way to the river that they needed to cross to get to what was left of the building in the distance. They tried to pass much of the way hiding behind large rocks and boulders, for they did not know what kind of creatures or people may be lurking around this area. However, once they were extremely close to the river, it became necessary to step away from the cover and walk into the moonlight. Sirius went first, then Remus followed, but as Cora went to stand up next to the boys she felt someone push her back and she landed on her back on the rocks at her feet. A groan came out of her mouth, but before she could find her bearings once again and ask Remus why he had pushed her to the ground, she heard a male voice coming from near the river.

"Well if it is not Dumbledore's trusty trio, however missing one of course," the man said, "but I am sure we will find him somewhere around here, he can't be that far."

"What do you want Malfoy?" Cora heard Sirius say.

"I always knew you were the runt of the family, serves you right, a pureblood with notable parents going into Gryffindor. That was bad enough, but becoming one of Dumbledore's minions and even applying to become an auror…I'm glad you're parents burned you off the family tree."

"You pale bastard," Sirius yelled, and Cora guessed that he had made some aggression for she then heard the man, she presumed was named Malfoy, explain back.

"I would put your silly wand away boy," he said with a voice that Cora knew he was grinning as he spoke, "you will see that you are clearly outnumbered."

With those words Cora heard multiple steps coming toward her and the boys, but before she could make her move to join her comrades she was forced out of her hiding place by a man and her mouth covered. As she was taken out into the open she saw Remus standing slightly behind Sirius, who was standing extremely close to the man she assumed was Malfoy. Around her were a few men and women, she did not recognize, located around the three of them.

"Cora," Remus cried and tried to move forward, but was stopped by one of the men.

"It seems with this one I have hit a spot with the werewolf," Malfoy said with a smile.

Cora was trying to wriggle out of the grip of the man holding her, but his grip was too strong for her escape. She could feel a wand being pressed against her throat, but before the man holding her could start a curse she felt it fly out of his hand. Because of that quick motion the man was put off guard and Cora was able to escape. Completely forgetting her wand, she turned around and punched the man in the face who was holding her. From the impact he backed up, and while he was away from her, Cora noticed that another seven more people who looked like Hogwarts students came rushing to the trio's aid. Among those students came Lily, James, and Peter from the hiding place close to where Cora was standing.

"Are you all right?" Lily asked Cora, as she ran to her side with her wand drawn.

"I'm fine now, where did you guys come from?"

But before Lily could answer her, she was cut off by a purple curse flying past her face. At that the girls separated from each other and went on to fight with the rest of the men and women that were in Malfoy's clan. Trying to get glances at those people who were fighting with her and her other Gryffindor clan, as she fought with some woman who had jet black hair, cold black eyes, and a crooked nose, she noticed that all were seventh year students from Hogwarts. Although she may have not known them all personally, she still knew their names. There were three students from Ravenclaw; Graham Wallace, Rachel Adams, and Samantha Reeds and two from Hufflepuff; Alex Copperfield and Stewart Finley. Each was extremely bright and the professors each had their eyes to the sky with those five students; they knew they would bring about great changes in the world with their attitude and abilities.

The curses were flying high and far, and even the occasional killing curse was being sent toward the students, most likely because of the frustration that the ex-students were not being subdued so easily. Once Cora had successfully sent her opponent flying across the river into piercing rock on the other side, she joined her nearest comrade; Sirius Black.

Sirius was trying to fend off the man named Malfoy who was so threatening to him before the fighting began. Even though it appeared that Sirius was beginning to lose the battle with the enemy, a smile still was spread across this face that was too sincere to be from a curse. Yet soon their battle moved in such a way that Sirius was pinned against a rock that was impossible for him to climb without putting his back to his opponent. In one sleek moment Sirius slipped under his own feet and landed on the ground, giving Malfoy ample opportunity to catch him off guard. Yet when Cora saw this, right before a curse could come out of his mouth; she tackled Malfoy to the floor. Malfoy, in frustration then raised his wand at her, but he was soon thrown into the lake by an unseen force. This force happened to be Sirius getting to his feet and cursing him to land far away from the two of them.

"You okay?" Sirius asked her, perhaps the first time he was sincerely concerned for Cora's welfare.

"I am, but are you all right?"

"You mean besides the attacks going on everywhere, perfectly fine," he said with a genuine smile.

The two went on to join their comrades, but soon found that the ten students were not the only ones fighting for their side anymore. While Malfoy had been thrown across the stones into the river, aurors had begun to appear. With this, those fighting the students quickly left their fight, for at that point they were greatly outnumbered and only a few injured were left behind; including the woman whom Cora had sent flying across the river who was slowly making her way up from her position on the ground.

Without saying much, the aurors present picked up the two injured enemies the students were fighting and traveled with them through a portkey which they all seemed to have in their coat. The leader of the group, who Cora knew to be a man named Moody, brought the other students who had minor injuries, together around him and one other auror.

"Just hold on tight," Moody said as he held out a large bracelet; and with that Cora felt a tug on the back of her navel and she found herself at platform 9 ¾ once again.

The students stood there for a while, trying to catch their breathe from the fight.

"Before any of you speak," the woman who was transported with them said, "we need to make sure everyone is okay."

"I think he has broken his ankle," Rachel said about the Hufflepuff next to her.

"I'll be fine, just tell us what is going on first," Alex said, trying to make it seem that he could stand on his own.

"Well you all are going to be checked out before you are able to leave this platform, but I guess an explanation is in order," the woman said. "We are not sure why you were all attacked, but it seems that a few death eaters managed to charm the portal so that a few of you were transported to that horrible place. We are not sure why you were specifically chosen, but for some reason you were."

"What about the others, we are missing a few in our group," Sirius explained, obviously still worried about Kyra.

"No I assure you," she continued, "all the other students are accounted for, we made sure to know who and how many were missing before we went into the area; after we found out where you had gone of course. Those death eaters may be cleaver but they sure aren't smart. We were able to just walk through the portal between the platforms getting into the muggle world and walked right into it."

"But you have no idea what we were targeted?" Lily asked, taking James's hand for support as she spoke.

"No idea," she said.

"Now Alice, I am sure you can guess now why they were selected," Moody said, finally opening his mouth since their return.

The woman, named Alice, looked perplexed at him but did not say a word and gave him time to speak.

"Let's see," he continued, "how many of you are planning on taking on auror training?"

At this all the students raised their hands, except Cora who could not really be seen behind the sea of raised hands for she was in the back of the group.

Turning to Alice, Moody spoke again, "That will answer your question."

Feeling a little confused, as Moody walked away while the other students questioned Alice for more details, Cora followed him a little further down the rail station.

"Sir," she quietly said, "Mr. Moody."

"Yes Corinthia," he tuned around and said, with a slight annoyance in his voice.

"You're theory can't be correct, I'm not going to be an auror."

"Oh the youth these days, I have no idea what is going to become of this generation," he said, "you pose just as much of a threat to the Dark Lord as any auror. A complex dueler is not the kind of competition he wants to be standing up to."

With that sentence he walked through the portal, and soon after being checked by Alice for their injuries, they were each sent through the portal again. This time they landed in Kings Crossing, and found both their stuff and a worried Kyra running up to her friends. She had tears in her eyes and was clearly frazzled from the whole situation; the fact that they had dust and scrapes all over them was not helping her calm down in any way.

"What happened? No one would tell us what was going on! Cora, all I knew was that one moment you were next to me and then once I got through the platform only your stuff was there next to me!" Kyra said much too fast for most people to comprehend.

With a large sigh Lily spoke, "it's a long story. All I know is that this is only the beginning of the fight."

"Yeah, and all the pressures we had at school are over with," Graham explained, "We're all friends now, by default in that we are fighting the same enemy."

All the seventh years nodded at his words, and proceeded to slowly get their feet on the ground after the incident and make their way finally toward the exit.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, it has been way too long since my last update and I have no real excuse for the reason why. But I do think the same reason why I have started to write are basically because of all the lovely reviews I keep getting which tell me every time I get a message in my inbox that I need to write more and the fact that I am currently studying abroad in the UK right near where JK Rowling was supposed to have written part of her first book. The atmosphere around here just makes me think of Harry Potter everywhere, so I was driven to write once again. I am hoping to have another chapter up in another week or two. I have a bunch of free time because the only reading I can do is at the library and I can't be in there for too long or I will die by death of books.

Oh, and I'm not very fond of this chapter. It's not really well written and too jumpy I think, but then again fighting is very jumpy. But alas I hope my next chapter will be better, once I get into the swing of writing regularly again something that is not a research paper.

I hope you all enjoy and thank you all for reviewing, if it was not for you I would not be writing this chapter right now!

Please review; it will make me write faster because I will start to realize I can't ignore all the inbox messages in my e-mail!

Thank you all!


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